Cutting calories in your diet can make you slim and it can assist the effects of aging.
Scientists at the Institute of Aging, University of Florida, fed rats with 8% fewer calories per day and slightly increased their activity.
The rats' lifespan extended and significantly reversed the negative effects of cellular aging on liver function and health overall, so reports science portal EurekAlert.
8% reduction is the same as a few hundred calories in a normal human diet and slight exercise is equal to a short walk, so say scientists.
The findings highlight that just small reductions in calories can impact massively on health.
An 8% reduction is the equivalent of a few hundred calories in an average human diet and moderate exercise is equivalent to taking a short walk, the scientists say.
Even a slight change in calorie intake and a mild exercise programme is key to vital organs like the liver, which can dysfunction with aging.
