Trial reportThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2015
A 2-Year Randomized Controlled Trial of Human Caloric Restriction: Feasibility and Effects on Predictors of Health Span and Longevity.
Trial report in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT00427193 (Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy), which is not on this map. Cited by 284 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE)
Who cites it
284 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 462 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions that prolong multidimensional healthspan in humans: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Adipocyte Size, Overweight, and Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Impact of Weight Loss: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Different Exercises Combined with Different Dietary Interventions on Body Composition: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Perspectives into the experience of successful, substantial long-term weight-loss maintenance: a systematic review.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2021Pooled it
- Is Caloric Restriction Associated with Better Healthy Aging Outcomes? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Caloric restriction improves glycemic control via the adiponectin-ceramide axis in non-obese men and women: the CALERIE™ 2 randomized controlled trial.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Prospective Association Between Weight Variability and Subsequent Long-Term Weight Loss in the CALERIE Study.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2026Trial
- Weight Regain Reverses Caloric Restriction-Induced Benefits on the Insulin-IGF-1 Nutrient-Sensing Pathway: Post Hoc Analysis From the CALERIE-2 Randomized Controlled Trial.Diabetes care · 2026Trial
- Diet quality and nutritional adequacy during a 2-year calorie restriction intervention: the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy 2 trial.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Trial
- Self-selected dietary intake and association with achieved caloric restriction in CALERIECritical reviews in food science and nutrition · 2026Trial
- Association between physical activity energy expenditure and markers of healthspan during prolonged calorie restriction in individuals without obesity: observations from the CALERIE™ phase 2 randomized controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of south Asian food pattern in calorie restriction diet among young adults with overweight and obesity in Dhaka city- a randomized controlled trial.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Trial
- Effect of caloric restriction on organ size and its contribution to metabolic adaptation: an ancillary analysis of CALERIE 2.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- The CALERIE Genomic Data Resource.Nature aging · 2025Trial
- Prediction of individual weight loss using supervised learning: findings from the CALERIEThe American journal of clinical nutrition · 2024Trial
- Effect of long-term caloric restriction on telomere length in healthy adults: CALERIE™ 2 trial analysis.Aging cell · 2024Trial
- Diet composition, adherence to calorie restriction, and cardiometabolic disease risk modification.Aging cell · 2023Trial
- Calorie restriction modulates the transcription of genes related to stress response and longevity in human muscle: The CALERIE study.Aging cell · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Body shape perception in men and women without obesity during caloric restriction: a secondary analysis from the CALERIE study.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2023Trial
224 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issuedErrata.2016
Authors and funding
23 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCaloric restriction (CR), energy intake reduced below ad libitum (AL) intake, increases life span in many species. The implications for humans can be clarified by randomized controlled trials of CR.
methodsTo determine CR's feasibility, safety, and effects on predictors of longevity, disease risk factors, and quality of life in nonobese humans aged 21-51 years, 218 persons were randomized to a 2-year intervention designed to achieve 25% CR or to AL diet. Outcomes were change from baseline resting metabolic rate adjusted for weight change ("RMR residual") and core temperature (primary); plasma triiodothyronine (T3) and tumor necrosis factor-α (secondary); and exploratory physiological and psychological measures.
resultsBody mass index averaged 25.1 (range: 21.9-28.0 kg/m(2)). Eighty-two percent of CR and 95% of AL participants completed the protocol. The CR group achieved 11.7±0.7 %CR (mean ± standard error) and maintained 10.4±0.4% weight loss. Weight change in AL was negligible. RMR residual decreased significantly more in CR than AL at 12 months (p = .04) but not 24 months (M24). Core temperature change differed little between groups. T3 decreased more in CR at M12 and M24 (p < .001), while tumor necrosis factor-α decreased significantly more only at M24 (p = .02). CR had larger decreases in cardiometabolic risk factors and in daily energy expenditure adjusted for weight change, without adverse effects on quality of life.
conclusionsSustained CR is feasible in nonobese humans. The effects of the achieved CR on correlates of human survival and disease risk factors suggest potential benefits for aging-related outcomes that could be elucidated by further human studies.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.