Low calorie diet better for lifespan than exercise

A low-calorie diet is likely to be better than regular exercise or aerobics in extending one's lifespan, according to a study.

"We know that being lean rather than obese is protective from many diseases, but key rodent studies tell us that being lean from eating less, as opposed to exercising more, has greater benefit for living longer," said Derek M. Huffman of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the study's lead author.

Although the study applies only to rodents, at least two studies which examined people engaging in high-volume exercise versus people who restricted calorie intake, had a similar outcome: caloric restriction has physiological benefits that exercise alone does not.

Two previous studies showed that rats that exercise regularly will, on average, live longer compared to a group that eats the same amount but does not exercise. The findings of the study appear in the latest issue of the American Journal of Physiology.