Study Finds That Eating Frequent, Smaller Meals May Not Be As Healthy As Once Thought

December 6, 2012: 12:00 AM EST

Contrary to recent suggestions about weight loss, a new study finds that obese women who eat fewer, but larger, meals – rather than several small meals – each day may be metabolically more healthy. According to U.S. researchers, eating larger meals less often lowered blood-fat levels. Eventually, eating fewer, larger meals each day could lower blood-fat levels and lower the risk of heart disease. The study focused on the impact of meal frequency on blood-sugar and blood-fat levels in eight obese women. Meals alternated between more frequent, smaller meals, and less frequent, larger meals, on two separate days. Each meal totaled 1,500 calories. Women who consumed three meals a day had significantly lower fat in their blood.

Timothy D. Heden et al., "Meal Frequency Differentially Alters Postprandial Triacylglycerol and Insulin Concentrations in Obese Women", Obesity, December 06, 2012, © The Obesity Society

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Study Finds That Eating Frequent, Smaller Meals May Not Be As Healthy As Once Thought

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