Eating 40 percent less food could extend a person`s life by 20 years, according to scientists. Researchers at the Institute of Health Ageing at University College London are developing a treatment that they hope will fight the `disease` of getting older. They are looking into how genetics  and lifestyle can affect ageing and add years, possibly decades, to a person`s life. Age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and neuro degeneration can also be treated, it is claimed. They want to find out how the life of a rat can be increased by up to 30 percent simply by reducing its food intake. Researcher Dr. Piper told the Independent : `If you reduce the diet of a rat by 40 percent it will live for 20 or 30 percent longer. So we would be talking 20 years of human life. This has shown on all sorts of animals, even Labradors(a kind of dog).`The scientists are also studying fruit flies, which share 60 percent of human genes and age in a similar manner, and mice. They have already made the healthy lifespan  longer in both flies and mice by using drug treatments and a balanced diet. It is hoped that this combination will also work to extend  human life. Dr. Piper said: `If we discover the genes involved with ageing, we should be able to delay ageing itself. This is what we`ve found.` He added that the field of research into extending life is only a decade old, so remains `in theory . It is their special approach to treating all age-related diseases caused by the `disease` of ageing itself that sets their research apart. How can people live longer according to the text?
Exercise regularly. Reduce their diet properly. Vary their lifestyles constantly. Change their genes completely.