Living evidence page · Everyday foundations
Calorie restriction
CALERIE tested two years of supported calorie restriction in healthy, non-obese adults. Cardiometabolic and biomarker findings remain separate from permanent healthspan, human lifespan and unsupervised restriction.
Safety and regulatory context: Sustained restriction can be inappropriate for people who are underweight, pregnant, growing, frail, recovering from illness, or vulnerable to eating disorders. CALERIE used intensive monitoring and nutrition support, so unsupervised restriction is not equivalent.
Compare coverage
Three different evidence questions
Counts and order describe what More Years has released. They do not indicate evidence strength, efficacy, safety, importance, popularity or recommendation.
Released reporting
What the covered evidence says
Randomized trial · Human outcomes and biomarkers · randomized trial
CALERIE tested calorie restriction for two years—not human lifespan
- Population
- 218 healthy, non-obese adults age 21–51
- Measured
- metabolism, cardiometabolic risk factors and DNA-methylation biomarkers
A randomized trial found selected cardiometabolic improvements, while aging-biomarker results were mixed and lifespan was not measured.
Does not establish: CALERIE did not test mortality or lifespan and cannot show that restriction delays every disease, benefits older or frail adults, or is safe for everyone. It does not prove that changing DunedinPACE changes clinical outcomes. Findings from laboratory animals cannot fill those human-outcome gaps.
Published 2026-07-31 · verified 2026-07-31
Primary publications and governing syntheses
3 covered studies
These records preserve identifiers, populations, outcomes and interpretation boundaries from the released evidence library.
Other human evidence · peer-reviewed
Pmid 31303390 Covered Publication
DOI: 10.1016/S2213-8587(19)30151-2
- Population
- 218 healthy, non-obese adults age 21–51
- Measured
- metabolism, cardiometabolic risk factors and DNA-methylation biomarkers
- Result in released coverage
- A randomized trial found selected cardiometabolic improvements, while aging-biomarker results were mixed and lifespan was not measured.
- Evidence maturity
- randomized human trial; indirect for longevity
- Funding / conflicts
- Funding and conflict context is retained in linked reporting; this source record does not separately structure it.
- Limitations
- See the linked story for study-specific limitations and applicability boundaries.
The measured result does not establish a general longevity benefit beyond the population, design and outcomes reported.
Verified 2026-08-27 · correction state: none
Other human evidence · peer-reviewed
Pmid 37118425 Covered Publication
DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00357-y
- Population
- 218 healthy, non-obese adults age 21–51
- Measured
- metabolism, cardiometabolic risk factors and DNA-methylation biomarkers
- Result in released coverage
- A randomized trial found selected cardiometabolic improvements, while aging-biomarker results were mixed and lifespan was not measured. · Different clocks target different constructs. A score is not a diagnosis, and changing it does not prove longer life.
- Evidence maturity
- randomized human trial; indirect for longevity · research biomarker; clinical utility not established
- Funding / conflicts
- Funding and conflict context is retained in linked reporting; this source record does not separately structure it.
- Limitations
- See the linked story for study-specific limitations and applicability boundaries.
CALERIE tested calorie restriction for two years—not human lifespan · What an epigenetic clock can—and cannot—tell you
Verified 2026-08-27 · correction state: corrected
Other human evidence · peer-reviewed
Pmid 26187233 Covered Publication
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glv057
- Population
- 218 healthy, non-obese adults age 21–51
- Measured
- metabolism, cardiometabolic risk factors and DNA-methylation biomarkers
- Result in released coverage
- A randomized trial found selected cardiometabolic improvements, while aging-biomarker results were mixed and lifespan was not measured.
- Evidence maturity
- randomized human trial; indirect for longevity
- Funding / conflicts
- Funding and conflict context is retained in linked reporting; this source record does not separately structure it.
- Limitations
- See the linked story for study-specific limitations and applicability boundaries.
The measured result does not establish a general longevity benefit beyond the population, design and outcomes reported.
Verified 2026-08-27 · correction state: none
Registry records
1 connected clinical trial
Status and results availability are kept separate from evidence conclusions.
Unknown · Not assessed
calorie restriction — NCT00427193
- Population
- 218 healthy, non-obese adults age 21–51
- Intervention / comparator
- randomized trial
- Primary outcome
- metabolism, cardiometabolic risk factors and DNA-methylation biomarkers
- Sponsor / funding context
- Funding and conflict context is source-reviewed in the linked article; registry sponsorship alone is not evidence of benefit.
Registry status is operational information, not evidence of benefit.
Status checked 2026-07-31 · registry link checked 2026-08-27
Coverage timeline
When this reporting was released
- CALERIE tested calorie restriction for two years—not human lifespanHuman outcomes and biomarkers · randomized trial