Health & Wellbeing

Is It True That Having Several Small Meals Is Healthier?

Natalia J.

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Breaking down your daily food intake into fewer, smaller meals is touted to come with many advantages. Believers attribute such benefits as increased metabolism and weight loss, stable blood sugar levels, more energy, and a feeling of fullness throughout the day to a higher meal frequency. Do these proposed perks hold up to scientific scrutiny? For what, if anything, are these snack-sized meals really beneficial?

The three meals a day vs. several smaller meals debate

Several Snacks or Fewer Larger Meals lunch boxes

Since childhood, most of us follow a three-meals-a-day template consisting of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. More recently, you may have heard that switching to several smaller meals is the healthier choice. This second approach is said to aid in weight loss, promote satiety, prevent fatigue, and prevent chronic diseases. While a few studies support some of these claims, the smaller meals approach is by no means a cure-all.

Let’s break down each of the purported health benefits and see which meal frequency is the better choice:

1. Weight loss and metabolism

If you choose to eat more frequently because you’re pursuing weight loss, don’t torture yourself. Research suggests that eating 3 regular meals a day versus 6 smaller meals has no difference in your perceived hunger or body weight.

Several Snacks or Fewer Larger Meals food portioned in jars

In the study, both groups consumed adequate calories but at a varying frequency, and the researchers didn’t observe any difference in fat loss between them. On the contrary, those who ate 6 smaller meals were feeling hungry earlier and more frequently than those who ate 3 meals a day. Thus, the researchers suggest that those who eat more often are actually more likely to consume more calories.

Therefore, if your goal is to lose weight or prevent weight gain, it’s actually better to avoid snacking and eat less frequently (5-6 hours between breakfast and lunch, and fast for 18-19 hours overnight).

A similar picture can be observed in metabolism. Once again, existing evidence suggests that eating every 2-3 hours does NOT boost your metabolism. It’s actually the opposite - having less frequent meals seems to increase metabolism more.

2. Chronic disease

Several Snacks or Fewer Larger Meals a big healthy meal

Eating fewer, smaller meals may have a limited beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system by improving cholesterol levels. A study from 2019 suggests that those who eat more than 4 meals a day have higher levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and lower triglyceride levels compared to those who eat fewer meals. However, the same study found no differences in LDL (bad) cholesterol levels between the two groups.

But your doctor may still recommend that you split your daily food intake into smaller meals, as an earlier review study found a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in those who eat smaller, more frequent meals.

3. Energy and athletic performance

Several Snacks or Fewer Larger Meals meal prep

If you’re an athlete, many experts suggest that eating small meals more frequently is the better choice. But for the rest of us, there’s no significant difference. What specific benefits can athletes expect? The International Society of Sports Nutrition suggests that athletes on a low-calorie diet be better at preserving lean muscle mass by eating small but frequent snacks high in protein.

Note that the International Society of Sports Nutrition doesn't say that fewer, smaller meals can help build muscle - this is an important distinction. In athletes, frequent snacks may also promote fat loss and improve their performance.

4. Quality over quantity

Several Snacks or Fewer Larger Meals healthy ingredients

One unexpected advantage of more frequent meals lies within the types of foods consumed rather than the frequency per se. According to a 2020 study, eating more frequent, smaller meals often results in higher diet quality overall.

More specifically, this means that people who eat 3 or more meals a day tend to eat more vegetables, fruit, legumes, dairy, and whole grains than those who eat less frequently. They also tend to eat less added salt and sugar than those who only eat once or twice per day.

Needless to say, these are just general tendencies. By all means, a person can only eat 2-3 meals a day and still get all the variety and nutrients from their diet.

The bottom line

Several Snacks or Fewer Larger Meals healthy breakfast

In short, eating food more or less frequently doesn’t seem to make a massive difference in your well-being or metabolic rate. Improving the quality of the foods you eat is more important, and if snacking helps you achieve that goal, then great! Just make sure that you practice portion control, otherwise you may put on some unwanted weight.

That being said, certain health conditions, such as gastrointestinal symptoms or diabetes, may benefit from 6-10 smaller meals; but that decision is ultimately up to you and your doctor.

H/T: Medical News Today