SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Lean Monkeys Meaner, Study Says

Monkeys who become leaner on the American Heart Assn. low-fat diet also become significantly meaner, researchers have found.

Dr. Jay Kaplan of the Bowman Gray School of Medicine fed 15 macaque monkeys a diet containing the recommended level of 30% fat and another 15 a more normal diet containing 43% fat, according to Physician’s Weekly. Over the course of a year, the low-fat eaters averaged 50% more aggressive episodes than their richly fed counterparts.

Kaplan said his studies may be relevant to the increased mortality from trauma and violence that researchers have found among about 30,000 humans who have participated in seven cholesterol-lowering trials.

But the low-fat group of monkeys did wind up with much lower serum cholesterol levels and less atherosclerosis.