Love for life makes diet diehards eat less: Study

Inspired by animal experiments showing that underfeeding enhances vitality and prolongs life by 30 percent or more, the US-based Calorie Restriction Society is slashing calorie intake in a bid to beat back the clock and halt the ageing process.

Society member Bob Cavanaugh said: "Some people are doing it strictly to enhance longevity," Cavanaugh said from his home near Moorehead City in North Carolina.

"Others do it to avoid age-related disease, or because they already have diabetes, high cholesterol or clogged arteries and want to clean up their bodies by using diet."