CNN.com - Study: Even mid-life diet change can extend life - Sep. 19, 2003: "'If this works in humans, then it means that from the time a person starts on a restricted diet, they'll be like individuals of the same age who were always on that diet,' she said. 'Their prospects of survival are the same.'

Partridge said that although the life-extending effects of short rations have never been proven in humans, it has been shown in monkeys, mice, rats and fruit flies that diet restrictions will lead to longer lives.

'There is no reason to suppose it wouldn't apply equally to humans,' she said. 'There are diet restriction studies now underway with monkeys and all the indications appear the same [as with mice, rats and fruit flies].' "