Ood targets for intervention. Nevertheless, whether one uses pharmacologically active foods or food extracts to target specific aging-related biological pathways or nutritional interventions that target multiple pathways related to aging, it will be important to identify individual genetic susceptibility to particular risk factor interventions, such as optimizing blood sugar or Carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone web reducing sodium or cholesterol (de Magalh s et al., 2011; Mercken et al., 2012; Morris et al., 2005; SKF-96365 (hydrochloride)MedChemExpress SKF-96365 (hydrochloride) Rattan, 2012). The scientific discipline of epidemiology, which includes genetic epidemiology and nutritional epidemiology, may provide clues as to where to begin and which path to follow. From an epidemiology of aging perspective, wide variability exists in the global prevalence of age-related diseases and past studies have suggested that while genes are important, the majority of the variation in overall human lifespan (G ele et al., 2011) and perhaps more importantly, in healthspan (Rattan, 2012), has been shown to be environmental. That is, dietary habits, physical activity, smoking and other risk behaviors, access to health care, immunization and other public health practices, and other social determinants of health, account for the majority of variation in risk for age-related morbidity and mortality. Backing up this contention is recent epidemiological research that has focused upon risk factors for healthy aging which has shown that avoiding nine common risk factors in midlife may increase odds of healthy aging into octogenarian and nonagenarian years by over four-fold (Willcox et al. 2006). Moreover, nutritional epidemiological research on risk factorAuthor Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptMech Ageing Dev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 April 24.Willcox et al.Pagemodification as well as dietary intervention studies have shown that the benefits on particular lipid and inflammatory-related risk factors (e.g. LDL cholesterol, C-reactive protein) from shifting to a healthier dietary pattern can be substantial and even rival that of pharmacotherapy (Jenkins et al. 2005). Therefore, it stands to reason that a population-wide shift to a healthier dietary pattern may facilitate significant delays in age-related morbidity and decrease the age-specific risk of disability and death—allowing for substantial improvement in both lifespan and healthspan. This would bring us closer to realizing the “longevity dividend”. Some large scale population-wide public health interventions that have used nutritional approaches (usually as part of a multi-intervention strategy) for age-associated diseases, such as cardiovascular disease reduction in the North Karelia Project, have been very successful, while others have been less so (Papadakis and Moroz, 2008; Puska, 2010). In North Karelia, Finland, a comprehensive lifestyle intervention that has lasted over three decades has been associated with an 80 risk reduction for cardiovascular disease (CVD)– three quarters of that risk was explained by reduction in common risk factors (e.g. cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking) (Vartiainen et al, 2010). While pharmacotherapy and other medical therapies also became more common during the intervention period, dietary change was a major factor in the CVD risk reduction. For example, statins for cholesterol reduction became popular during the public health intervention period but changes in dietary fat quality and cholesterol intake explained 65.Ood targets for intervention. Nevertheless, whether one uses pharmacologically active foods or food extracts to target specific aging-related biological pathways or nutritional interventions that target multiple pathways related to aging, it will be important to identify individual genetic susceptibility to particular risk factor interventions, such as optimizing blood sugar or reducing sodium or cholesterol (de Magalh s et al., 2011; Mercken et al., 2012; Morris et al., 2005; Rattan, 2012). The scientific discipline of epidemiology, which includes genetic epidemiology and nutritional epidemiology, may provide clues as to where to begin and which path to follow. From an epidemiology of aging perspective, wide variability exists in the global prevalence of age-related diseases and past studies have suggested that while genes are important, the majority of the variation in overall human lifespan (G ele et al., 2011) and perhaps more importantly, in healthspan (Rattan, 2012), has been shown to be environmental. That is, dietary habits, physical activity, smoking and other risk behaviors, access to health care, immunization and other public health practices, and other social determinants of health, account for the majority of variation in risk for age-related morbidity and mortality. Backing up this contention is recent epidemiological research that has focused upon risk factors for healthy aging which has shown that avoiding nine common risk factors in midlife may increase odds of healthy aging into octogenarian and nonagenarian years by over four-fold (Willcox et al. 2006). Moreover, nutritional epidemiological research on risk factorAuthor Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptMech Ageing Dev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 April 24.Willcox et al.Pagemodification as well as dietary intervention studies have shown that the benefits on particular lipid and inflammatory-related risk factors (e.g. LDL cholesterol, C-reactive protein) from shifting to a healthier dietary pattern can be substantial and even rival that of pharmacotherapy (Jenkins et al. 2005). Therefore, it stands to reason that a population-wide shift to a healthier dietary pattern may facilitate significant delays in age-related morbidity and decrease the age-specific risk of disability and death—allowing for substantial improvement in both lifespan and healthspan. This would bring us closer to realizing the “longevity dividend”. Some large scale population-wide public health interventions that have used nutritional approaches (usually as part of a multi-intervention strategy) for age-associated diseases, such as cardiovascular disease reduction in the North Karelia Project, have been very successful, while others have been less so (Papadakis and Moroz, 2008; Puska, 2010). In North Karelia, Finland, a comprehensive lifestyle intervention that has lasted over three decades has been associated with an 80 risk reduction for cardiovascular disease (CVD)– three quarters of that risk was explained by reduction in common risk factors (e.g. cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking) (Vartiainen et al, 2010). While pharmacotherapy and other medical therapies also became more common during the intervention period, dietary change was a major factor in the CVD risk reduction. For example, statins for cholesterol reduction became popular during the public health intervention period but changes in dietary fat quality and cholesterol intake explained 65.