Should You Eat Several Small Meals or a Few Large Meals Per Day?

There is a great deal of conflicting advice about how often people should eat. When it comes to scientific research on this topic, the data are mixed. While it has been reported that eating more frequently has health benefits, that may not be true after all.

How Can Meal Frequency Affect Your Metabolism and Blood Sugar?
Your metabolic rate is the number of calories your body burns over a period of time. When you eat a meal, your metabolic rate rises slightly due to the digestive process. The amount of that rise in metabolism, called the thermic effect of food, depends on the total number of calories you consume in a period of time, not how often you eat or how many calories you consume with any individual meal or snack. Whether you eat a few large meals or consume a series of small meals and snacks, the effect on your metabolism will essentially be the same.

Scientific studies have not shown that breakfast “jumpstarts” metabolism, but eating a large, healthy morning meal can be beneficial in other ways. Since the body does a better job of controlling blood sugar early in the day, having a large breakfast can help you keep your average daily blood sugar level down, which can be helpful if you have diabetes or you’re concerned about your blood sugar. If you’re healthy, you can eat breakfast if you’re hungry or skip it if you’re not, then eat healthy meals later in the day.

If you’re concerned about managing your blood sugar, you will likely have a lower blood glucose level if you eat a few large meals than if you eat more often. You may, however, experience more dramatic increases and decreases in your blood sugar level with less frequent, more substantial meals. Eating a large, healthy breakfast and consuming fewer calories later in the day can help you keep your average daily blood sugar level down.

Intermittent fasting, or restricting your eating to specific periods of time and abstaining at other times, may provide health benefits. It can increase your metabolic rate, which may help you lose weight. Intermittent fasting may also improve your insulin sensitivity and lower your glucose and insulin levels.

How Often Should You Eat? 
If you get hungry, distracted and irritable when you eat infrequently, or if you find that you overeat or choose unhealthy foods at mealtimes, you may be better off eating several small meals or incorporating healthy snacks between meals. If you find that when you have frequent meals and snacks, you tend to eat unhealthy foods or consume too many total calories over the course of the day. If you just prefer to eat a few times per day, have larger meals. 

Decide how often to eat based on your needs and lifestyle. No matter how often you eat, choose foods that contain vital nutrients and avoid unhealthy and processed foods as much as possible.