Luigi Fontana

At a glance

• Physician-scientist and professor of medicine and nutrition at the University of Sydney (Charles Perkins Centre); previously at Washington University in St. Louis.
• One of the pioneers of calorie-restriction research in humans: he studied people who voluntarily ate less for years and found favourable blood pressure, cholesterol and inflammation markers, among other things.
• Contributed to work around CALERIE, the first randomised trial of long-term calorie restriction in healthy, non-obese adults.
• Studies how diet composition — including protein and specific amino acids — relates to growth signals and ageing.
• Wrote the book The Path to Longevity (2020), with practical advice on diet, exercise and lifestyle for a long, healthy life.
• He stresses that ageing depends on a combination of diet, exercise, sleep, stress and environment, and that no single ‘miracle measure’ exists.
• Takeaway: strict calorie restriction is hard to sustain and not without risks; not overeating and a plant-rich pattern are the realistic core.