Is it true that split meals are good for health?

There is an opinion that instead of the usual division of the daily diet into breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is better to eat in small portions, but often. We decided to check whether this statement has a scientific basis.

They talk about the incredible benefits of fractional nutrition for your figure and health nutritionists, such information can be found on portals about lifestyle And entertaining websites. On some medical resources it is stated that frequent small meals contribute improved metabolism, accelerated digestion, weight loss, etc. They praise such a nutrition system and specialists from the Russian Ministry of Health, and users social networks. Treatment tables popular in the post-Soviet space are varied diets, developed by the Soviet scientist Manuil Pevzner for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, are also based on the principle of fractional nutrition.

Fractional nutrition is methodwhich consists of eating small portions of food frequently. Instead of eating three times a day, with fractional meals a person eats five to six times, but little by little. At the same time, it is important to monitor the amount of calories consumed, since otherwise such an approach can result in overeating and, as a result, weight gain. In other words, the point of such nutrition is precisely in “splitting” the same caloric daily diet into smaller parts, and not in consuming additional portions of food in the intervals between breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The main effect that many supporters of fractional nutrition promise is weight loss. However, there are a number of studies that refute the relationship between meal frequency and weight loss. For example, in 2010, scientists from Canada conducted experiment, during which 16 obese people were divided into two groups. One ate three times a day, the other six, while the number of calories consumed in both groups was the same. After eight weeks, there was no statistically significant difference in weight loss between the groups.

In 2015, American scientists conducted meta-analysis existing research on this matter and concluded that although some experiments indicate a correlation between meal frequency and weight loss or maintaining it at the desired level, these data should be treated with caution. According to experts, it is impossible to say unequivocally that fractionated meals help you lose weight based on the available information. To the same conclusion in the same 2015, their colleagues from the University of Tennessee came, as well as scientists from Australia, who also conducted review research conducted at that time. Experts noted that many of the scientific studies showing the effectiveness of fractionated meals as a method of weight loss did not take into account important associated factors, such as physical activity. "Verified" was unable to find any more recent, reputable studies or reviews that would refute the conclusions described above.

At the same time, experts from the International Society of Sports Nutrition note, that although fractional meals do not help people who lead a sedentary lifestyle lose weight, it can still be useful for athletes. So, if you follow a low-calorie diet and consume enough protein, more frequent meals help maintain muscle mass. Same opinions Experts from the reputable Cleveland Clinic (USA) also adhere to the benefits of fractional nutrition for athletes.

Another common opinion about fractional nutrition is that it helps speed up metabolism, that is, the process of converting calories received from food into energy. However, experts from the authoritative medical research center Mayo Clinic (USA) claim that metabolic rate has almost no effect on weight gain, except in cases of serious and rather rare diseases. Be that as it may, split meals do not speed up metabolism (at least not to that extent) conclusion An American-Japanese group of scientists came in 2013). 

In addition, during the metabolic process, the body spends 5–10% of the calories it consumes on digesting food, as well as transporting nutrients from it “to the address” - this is the so-called thermal effect food. Proponents of fractional nutrition believe that the more often we eat, the more often this process starts and, accordingly, more calories are spent on processing food. However, “Verified” was unable to find scientific evidence for the theory that there is any difference in the energy expenditure for the body to digest 500 kcal at a time or five servings of 100 kcal.

Based on the results of a study carried out in 2010 research Scientists from Syracuse University (USA) found that more frequent meals increase blood sugar levels throughout the day in non-obese people. Eight people took part in the experiment, each of whom first ate high-carbohydrate food in three meals, then the same diet, but in six meals, and finally, high-protein food in six meals. One day was allocated for each stage of the experiment. In the latter of these diets, the effect was less pronounced, since proteins have less of an effect on sugar production than carbohydrates. To the same conclusion In 2012, a group of scientists from the Maastricht University Medical Center (Netherlands) reported on the effect of frequent meals on blood sugar levels in a similar study.

Scientists from the Czech Republic also conducted a 24-week controlled study in 2013. study, which was attended by 54 people with type 2 diabetes. For the first 12 weeks they ate six times a day, and for the next 12 weeks they ate only twice a day, all while maintaining a calorie deficit. Experts measured insulin production and sensitivity in the subjects three times: at the beginning of the study, before changing their diet, and at the end of the study. It turned out that insulin began to be produced more actively, and sensitivity to it increased under both nutritional scenarios (probably due to a decrease in calories and a generally more thoughtful and healthy diet), but more strongly in the second half of the experiment. In addition, study participants lost weight more actively when they ate only twice a day.

There is evidence that eating more frequently may help reduce levels of bad cholesterol, which increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Scientists from the Poznan University of Medical Sciences (Poland) in 2019 based on the health indicators and eating habits of 495 patients at the university hospital found outfound that those who ate at least four times a day had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in their blood than those who ate three meals a day. HDL is the so-called good cholesterol, which neutralizes bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, LDL) and reduces the risk of heart disease. However, this study apparently did not take into account the total caloric content of food consumed, so its results should be used with caution when assessing the usefulness of fractional meals. As for the LDL level, according to data According to researchers from the University of Cambridge, people who eat more than six times a day have lower levels than those who eat one or two meals a day. 

In 2023, a group of scientists from China conducted a correlation study study, which examined meal frequency and mortality among people with diabetes who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the United States from 1999 to 2014 (almost 5,000 people in total). It turned out that mortality from both cardiovascular disease and cancer was lower in the group of people who ate four times a day or more often. Scientists from the USA and Taiwan, who published their results in 2016, came to similar conclusions. review the same NHANES, but for 1988–1992. They found that people who ate six or more times a day had a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Moreover, this trend was especially evident among those who consumed a significant amount of calories (from 2500 kcal) daily; recommended norm calories for women - 2000, for men - 2500, although this figure depends on lifestyle, age and other factors.

Note that these are correlation studies, that is, in this case it cannot be said that more frequent meals were the reason for the decrease in mortality. Also, the authors of these scientific works did not compare, for example, two and six meals a day of the same caloric intake. In the Chinese study, women in the sample consumed between 500 and 3,500 kcal daily, and men between 800 and 4,200 kcal. Researchers from Taiwan and the United States only note that, in general, those who ate more often ate more per day, but each meal was nevertheless smaller. But this cannot be considered fully fractional nutrition. There is a possibility that some of the subjects actually consciously adhered to such a diet, but certainly not all. 

In addition, dentists notethat frequent snacking throughout the day can be harmful to your dental health. This connected with the fact that bacteria that live in dental plaque - a thin, almost imperceptible film on our teeth - produce acids when in contact with sugar (and it is found in varying quantities in many foods) or starchy foods. These acids can damage tooth enamel and later cause tooth decay. Accordingly, the more often we eat, the more often this process repeats and the higher the risks for our teeth. 

Thus, at the moment there is no consensus in the scientific world whether split meals are healthier for health than the usual three meals a day, or, on the contrary, more harmful. According to researchers, for example, for weight loss, it is not so important how many meals the daily diet is divided into - what matters is its total calorie content and variety. Some scientific work suggests that people who eat more often are healthier in several ways (such as bad cholesterol levels in the blood), but there is no evidence that one is a direct consequence of the other. However, such studies have two significant limitations. Firstly, many of them rely on food diaries or stories from subjects about their eating habits (and this is a relatively unreliable source, since it is impossible to verify the reliability and accuracy of the data indicated), and secondly, these studies do not take into account the basic principle of fractional nutrition: you can consume the same amount of calories per day, but in smaller portions. If a person does not monitor the caloric content of his daily diet, but decides to eat more often, this can lead to overeating and weight gain.

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What do our verdicts mean?

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