The most discussed health topic is weight management. Let’s face it, the management we are talking about is almost always in the form of weight loss. Creating a caloric deficit, expending more energy than taken in, is the absolute only way our bodies will manage to lose weight. There are many ways to accomplish caloric deficit. Eating less, eating healthier (the biggest factor), and moving more are all factors in creating the deficit. Beyond the scale and fitting into your favorite jeans, there are also unseen benefits.
As mentioned, there are several ways to create the deficit. For most of us, this means the traditional diet and exercise path. This is a great path. The word, diet, usually involves eating a little less and more importantly choosing nutrient dense foods. The actual amount of food can be the same or even more, but choosing the lower calorie, nutrient dense foods is key. Exercise or simply moving more is a no brainer. The natural deficit created by this method also has behind the scenes benefits, particularly cardio metabolic benefits. We’ve all read the extensive benefits list including the positive effects on blood pressure, blood sugar/diabetes prevention, and cholesterol.
Digging even deeper on diet induced caloric deficit alone, can we actually slow the aging process and reduce age related disease associated with lower immunity? The National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institutes of Health, conducted a two year clinical trial entitled Comprehensive Assessment of Long term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy, aka CALERIE (clever, right?). Contrary to what you may think for a caloric deficit trial, it focused on apparently healthy, non-obese adults aged 21-50. Some findings from the trial include:
- Healthy, young, non-obese adults improved blood pressure, cholesterol profile, and insulin sensitivity.
- Although the group was categorized as non-obese (BMI range 22-27.9), some weight loss was observed.
- Those with the calorie-restricted diets had greater functional thymus volume (more on this below).
- Changes in gene expression of fat tissue that potentially can result in less diet-induced weight gain, less age-related inflammation, and improvement in thymus function.
The most casual reader probably expects Findings 1 and 2. Findings 3 and 4 are for nerds like yours truly that enjoy a deeper dive into why healthy choices make us healthy.
As promised, here is a little more on thymus gland function. The thymus has a vital role in overall immunity. It is the personal trainer, if you will, of T cells. T cells, a very important type of white blood cell, have been in the news over the last few years due to their role in our immune system’s ability to fight disease. With that said, the CALERIE trial gives us more evidence on how and why a healthy diet (lower calorie with nutrient dense foods) alone can improve immunity. Simply put, an improved immunity equals less disease as we age.
Looking beyond the scale when it comes to a healthy diet helps us realize why it is so important. Yes, weight loss is a fine motivator, but our bodies are more than a size and weight. How well we function and feel is the real end game.
For my fellow nerds, here is a link to learn more about the CALERIE trial.
