Body weight is undoubtedly affected by the genetic script. Some people are programmed to get heavier as they get older. This is often the real reason for the middle-aged spread. Others have a script that does not call for increased obesity at that phase of life. That inherited script has a lot to do with how successful people are with weight control programs of diet and exercise. It is probably true that individuals who overly restrict their diet, in an effort to be leaner than their genetic script intended, are not in an optimal state of health. But like the research with the starved rats, they may actually live longer.

Controversial anti-aging factors:

• Vitamins, particularly vitamins A, C, and E. These are "antioxidants," meaning they are claimed to prevent superoxide radicals from inducing aging effects. Some scientists say, "There is no evidence that any vitamins retard aging." Other scientists, like Linus Pauling, disagree.

• SOD, superoxide dismutase. This enzyme enables the rapid removal of superoxide radicals from the cells, and long-lived animals do have higher tissue levels of SOD than short-lived animals. But, according to the medical field, taking SOD will not do anything to extend your life span or make you younger.

• Gerovital-H3 and H7 has been promoted as a youth pill for more than 30 years. It is really procaine hydrochloric acid, which is the basic chemical used as an anesthetic for dental work. According to the medical community, it has no anti-aging effects at all. Some doctors say that the benefits originally reported by Ana Aslan of Hungary were actually not because of the procaine. Older people did do better, because someone took an interest in them, their diet was improved, and they exercised. Gerovital-H7 is now being advertised as an improvement on the old formula.

• Removal of the pituitary gland has been used to try to prolong the life span. This was done on the belief that there is a "death hormone" and that it comes from the pituitary. Animals tested in this way did live longer, but they also lost weight. Regardless of which of these procedures is tried, most of the apparent beneficial results come back to the common factor--weight loss.

• Cell therapy. This consists of injecting young and immature cells of various organs taken from sheep fetuses. The theory is that injecting these young cells into an old body will rejuvenate the old cells. Dr. Paul Niehans of Switzerland used this technique on Pope Pius XII, and it became quite popular in Europe. This procedure can have complications because the body may react to the injected cells. This form of cell therapy is outlawed in the United States. Our scientists do not think it will achieve what it claims.

• DHEA-S, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate is a weak steroid formed by the adrenal gland. It is present in high concentrations in young adults, then declines drastically with increasing age. The men with the lowest levels of DHEA-S were the ones with the highest rate of death from any cause. Whether DHEA-S has a real role in preventing aging, or has actions that prevent disease, or both, will require further study.

• Aminoguanidine is a chemical that prevents cross-linking of protein. Rockefeller Foundation scientists think it will help to prevent many of the changes noted in diabetics and perhaps prevent changes from aging. It needs further study.

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