In addition, we showed previously that neither IGF-1 and IGFBP3 levels nor their ratio differed between partners and offspring from the LLS (Rozing et al., 2009), which indicates that IGF-1 serum levels are, in middle age, not a marker for longevity, whereas a decreased risk of metabolic diseases was evident at that age in long-lived families (Westendorp et al., 2009). This evidence concerns the gene IGFBP3 and metabolic disease.