A new study from Spain explored the link between obesity and epigenetic aging.
Epigenetic aging refers to how the body ages at a molecular level; sometimes a person’s biological age doesn’t always match their actual age.
They learned that a very low-calorie ketogenic diet could delay epigenetic aging by more than six years.
Obesity affects more than 40% of adults in the United States, and one of the health issues associated with obesity is how it affects different systems in the body.
When a person’s body age is higher than their actual age, they are at a higher risk for chronic diseases. This is also associated with a shorter lifespan.
The scientists who conducted the new study further explored obesity and epigenetic aging.
They found that after 180 days of a very low-calorie ketogenic diet, obese people’s epigenetic age dropped by more than six years compared to when they started.
Biological aging may shorten lifespan
Once used primarily by people with epilepsy to reduce seizures, the ketogenic diet has become a popular weight loss method. The idea behind the ketogenic diet is that by reducing carbohydrate intake (usually to no more than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day), people can put their bodies into a state of metabolic ketosis and lose fat faster.
The approach is somewhat controversial because by restricting a certain group of foods, there is evidence that it may lead to increases in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which can increase the risk of heart disease or stroke.
Obesity, which is associated with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, can accelerate biological aging by changing DNA methylation patterns, which are measured by epigenetic clocks.
When someone’s biological age is higher than their chronological age, they are prone to premature aging and a shortened lifespan.
Researchers in the new study explored whether accelerated epigenetic aging, obesity, and a very low-calorie ketogenic diet affect this measure of aging.
They tested this in two cross-sectional and longitudinal cohorts using the Horvath, Hannum, and Levine age clock:
The first cross-sectional cohort consisted of 20 normal-weight individuals
The second cross-sectional cohort included 28 obese patients
The longitudinal cohort consisted of 10 obese patients.
For the cross-sectional study, the researchers focused on determining biological age. For the longitudinal study, they put subjects on a very low-calorie ketogenic diet for 180 days and collected blood samples at baseline, after 30 days of the very low-calorie ketogenic diet, and at the 180-day endpoint to assess biological age.
Very Low Calorie Ketogenic Diet Reduces Aging by 6 Years
When comparing normal-weight and obese-weight age groups, researchers found that those in the obese group had a higher biological age.
The epigenetic age of obese people accelerated by 4.4 years, while that of normal-weight people slowed down by 3.1 years.
While the differences in aging between normal-weight and obese people are concerning, researchers have demonstrated through longitudinal cohort studies that the aging process can be reversed through nutritional choices.
When blood samples were analyzed after 30 days of nutritional ketosis—when the body is thought to be in the process of burning fat—participants had aged 6.1 years slower.
At the 180-day endpoint, these participants continued to age slower, with an average age reduction of 6.2 years.
The researchers suspect nutritional ketosis is responsible for the slowed aging. They note that levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate, a ketone body produced during ketosis, were associated with slower biological aging.
In addition to experiencing slower aging, people on the very low-calorie ketogenic diet also had improved blood sugar and insulin levels, which is important because obese people are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes.
Overall, the scientists determined that there is a link between obesity and biological aging, and that this link is reversible. The researchers note that larger studies should be conducted to “strengthen and solidify the role of ketone bodies in epigenetic regulation of aging.”
Are there health or safety issues with a very-low-calorie ketogenic diet?
Mir Ali, MD, a board-certified general surgeon, bariatric surgeon, and medical director of the Surgical Bariatric Center at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, spoke to Medical News Today about the study.
“The key way obesity affects aging is by causing greater inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction,” said Ali, who was not involved in the study, explaining how obesity accelerates biological aging.
“Stress and inflammation accelerate aging by causing a breakdown in key cellular functions in the body,” he continued.
Ali found the findings interesting but is not convinced that a very-low-calorie ketogenic diet alone can slow down aging.
“The very-low-calorie ketogenic diet does have benefits, but any weight loss method that gets patients to a healthy weight has been shown to improve all medical conditions and extend lifespan; it’s hard to definitively conclude that diet type has nothing to do with weight loss,” Ali noted.
Tiffany Marie Hendricks, a double-board certified family and lifestyle physician, also participated in the MNT study. Hendrix is with Full Health and Wellness in Athens, Alabama, and was not involved in the study.
She explains the very-low-calorie ketogenic diet from a clinical perspective. Hendrix has some concerns about the safety and sustainability of this approach.
“Translating the findings of very-low-calorie ketogenic diets into clinical guidelines presents multiple challenges,” she told us.
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