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The Nutritional Geometry of Aging

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Calorie Restriction, Aging and Longevity

Abstract

There is currently considerable interest in whether dietary restriction prolongs longevity because of caloric restriction or whether more specific nutrient effects are involved. Here it is shown how the development of state-space geometric models in nutrition (the Geometric Framework) has provided a new approach to separating the effects of calories and nutrients. We introduce the models and illustrate their use in three recent studies on insects. Data from these organisms demonstrate that it is not calories per se that drives the relationship between diet and longevity, but rather the ratio of protein to non-protein energy ingested. It is argued that similar geometric analysis is required for mammalian model systems.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Stephen J. Simpson

  2. Institute of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

    David Raubenheimer

Authors
  1. Stephen J. Simpson
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  2. David Raubenheimer
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sydney, 2006, Australia

    Arthur V. Everitt

  2. University of Aarhus, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark

    Suresh I. S. Rattan

  3. Sydney, 2006, Australia

    David G. le Couteur

  4. National Institute on Aging, Gerontology Research Center, National Institute of Health, Nathan Shock Drive 5600, Baltimore, 21224, USA

    Rafael de Cabo

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Simpson, S.J., Raubenheimer, D. (2010). The Nutritional Geometry of Aging. In: Everitt, A., Rattan, S., le Couteur, D., de Cabo, R. (eds) Calorie Restriction, Aging and Longevity. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8556-6_7

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