Our study shows that people do better if they bite the bullet and get down to a weight they desire and then try to maintain it, ... It's a myth that if you lose weight slowly you do better in the long run.

We know people on calorie restriction will lose weight. But this study isn't a weight-loss study. We're hoping to learn more about whether calorie restriction can alter the aging process.

Even though the (study) was not a weight-loss study, the modest weight-loss findings somehow still seem dissatisfying.

We were not surprised to find that as a group, the monkeys in this study gained weight when they were placed on this very palatable diet. However, what did surprise us initially was the fact that there was no clear correlation between caloric intake and weight gain. In other words, the monkeys that ate more didn't necessarily gain more weight.

We know people on calorie restriction will lose weight. But this study isn't a weight-loss study. We're hoping to learn more about whether calorie restriction can alter the aging process.

People who want to lose weight rapidly, or have a lot of weight to lose, should build up to 300 points per day or 2,000 points a week, or also go on a strict diet.