Copenhagen Trial Pits Exercise, Fasting, and NR Against Each Other to Slow Aging
A completed RCT from the University of Copenhagen tests whether aerobic exercise, time-restricted feeding, or NR supplementation best improves biological aging markers in healthy older adults.
Summary
The Slow Age trial is a completed Phase 2 randomized controlled trial from the University of Copenhagen that directly compared three popular anti-aging interventions — aerobic exercise, time-restricted feeding, and nicotinamide riboside (NR) supplementation — against a control group over 12 weeks in healthy older adults. Researchers tracked a remarkably broad set of aging biomarkers including inflammatory markers like IL-6 and CRP, NAD+ levels, epigenetic age via DNA methylation, transcriptomic age via RNA sequencing, functional measures like grip strength and gait speed, and even vocal and photo age. The trial addresses a critical gap: while exercise benefits are well-established, the human evidence for dietary timing and NAD+ precursor interventions on aging remains thin. Results from this trial could meaningfully inform which interventions are worth prioritizing.
Detailed Summary
As populations age globally, identifying scalable, safe interventions that extend healthspan has become a public health priority. While exercise is well-validated, the human evidence for time-restricted feeding and NAD+ precursor supplementation as anti-aging strategies remains limited. The Slow Age trial was designed to fill that gap with a rigorous head-to-head comparison.
Conducted at the University of Copenhagen, this Phase 2 randomized controlled trial enrolled healthy older adults and assigned them to one of four groups: aerobic exercise, time-restricted feeding, nicotinamide riboside (NR) supplementation, or a control condition. Participants were followed for 12 weeks, with comprehensive biological aging assessments conducted before and after the intervention period.
The trial's outcome battery is unusually broad and ambitious. The primary endpoint is interleukin-6, a key inflammatory cytokine associated with aging. Secondary outcomes span multiple biological clocks and functional domains, including CRP, TNF-α, NAD+ levels, hematologic age, epigenetic age via DNA methylation, transcriptomic age via RNA sequencing, handgrip strength, gait speed, body composition, and even vocal and photo age — offering a multidimensional portrait of biological aging.
The hypothesis is that all three active interventions will produce comparable and superior improvements in these aging biomarkers relative to the control group. If confirmed, this would validate NR and time-restricted feeding as legitimate alternatives or complements to exercise for older adults who may face physical limitations.
Several caveats apply. Full results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed form, so the actual findings remain unknown from the abstract alone. The 12-week duration may be insufficient to detect meaningful changes in slower-moving biomarkers like epigenetic age. Additionally, the study focuses on healthy older adults, limiting generalizability to those with chronic conditions. The trial's completion is nonetheless a significant milestone in human longevity research.
Key Findings
- Trial directly compares aerobic exercise, time-restricted feeding, and NR supplementation in healthy older adults over 12 weeks.
- Primary endpoint is IL-6; secondary outcomes include epigenetic age, NAD+ levels, grip strength, and gait speed.
- Researchers hypothesize all three interventions will outperform control on biological aging biomarkers.
- Multidimensional aging assessment includes DNA methylation clocks, RNA sequencing, and functional performance tests.
- Trial is completed, but peer-reviewed results are not yet available from the abstract alone.
Methodology
This is a Phase 2 randomized controlled trial with four parallel arms: aerobic exercise, time-restricted feeding, nicotinamide riboside, and control. Healthy older adults were followed for 12 weeks with pre- and post-intervention assessments of a broad panel of biological aging biomarkers. The multi-outcome design allows direct comparison of intervention efficacy across inflammatory, epigenetic, transcriptomic, and functional aging domains.
Study Limitations
This summary is based on the abstract only, as the full trial results have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. The 12-week intervention window may be too short to detect meaningful changes in epigenetic or transcriptomic aging clocks. The study population of healthy older adults limits generalizability to individuals with metabolic disease or frailty.
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