ABSTRACT
Contents 8.1 Epidemiology and biology of aging ................................................... 175 8.2 Nutritional modulation of aging .........................................................176 8.3 Epigenetic changes associated with aging ........................................ 177 8.4 Impact of nutrition on DNA methylation .......................................... 178 8.5 Impact of nutrition on histone modification ..................................... 187 8.6 Mechanisms through which diet influences
epigenetic markings ............................................................................. 187 8.7 Aging-related changes in intake and metabolism of
dietary components with epigenetic effects ..................................... 190 8.8 The influence of aging-associated epigenetic
modification on nutrient requirements ............................................. 194 8.9 Priorities of future research ................................................................ 194 References ........................................................................................................ 196
8.1 Epidemiology and biology of aging Over the past two centuries, one of the most remarkable human achievements has been the apparently inexorable increase in life expectancy observed in most countries. Apparently authoritative predictions of limits to human longevity have been confounded consistently for the last 80 years.1 Before 1950 most of this gain in years of life was due to reductions in deaths in childhood but there is now a clear increase in survival after age 65 years. For example, life expectancy of Japanese women has increased by 3 months per annum throughout the last 160 years and one in four Japanese girls born in the millennium year 2000 can expect to celebrate their 100th birthday. Until recently, population aging has been associated with the more developed regions of the world but the number of older people (defined as those aged 65 years or more) living in less developed regions is expected to increase from ~400 million people in 2002 to ~840 million in 2025.2 Globally, people over the age of 80 are the fastest growing segment of the population.2
