Those still suffering from an expanded waistline as a result of gastronomic excesses over the festive season will not be surprised to hear that a healthy diet does more than preserve the sylph-like dimensions of a youthful body. Scientists have now discovered that putting mice on a low-calorie diet can slow the ageing process of their heart, keeping it young and healthy.
Mice given a low calorie diet had 20% fewer age-related heart changes, says a team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US. Ageing of the heart is associated with certain genetic changes and adopting a reduced calorie diet in middle age may slow this process by 'reprogramming' genes, say the US scientists.
An added benefit is that reducing calorie intake appears to prolong the life of cells and suppress parts of the immune system that can cause tissue damage.
And it's not just humans who suffer from 'middle-aged spread'. It seems that worms get fat too.
Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a tiny nematode worm that appears to lose muscle mass and strength as it ages, is being used by scientists at Rutgers University in New Jersey, US, to address the same condition in humans. Although adult nematode worms have only 959 cells, they apparently share many key biological mechanisms with humans. And because their life cycle is measured in days rather than decades they have become a favourite organism among scientists.
As well as the muscular deterioration, which is said to be similar to that found in older humans suffering from sarcopenia, other research has found many genes in the worm that appear to extend its life, and there are hopes that this might eventually lead to a way of increasing human longevity.