Joachim Türk

• Caloric Restriction (CR) is the only intervention proven to retard aging and extend maximum lifespan in mammalians. A possible mechanism for the beneficial effects of CR is that the mild metabolic stress associated with CR induces cells to express stress proteins that increase their resistance to disease processes. In this article we therefore model the retardation of aging by dietary restriction within a mathematical framework. The resulting model comprises food intake, stress proteins, body growth and survival. We successfully applied our model to growth and survival data of mice exposed to different food levels.