There is an opinion that instead of the usual division of the day diet for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is better to eat in small portions, but often. We decided to check if this statement has scientific grounds.

The incredible benefits of fractional nutrition for figure and health are told nutritionists, such information can be found on the portals about Life style And entertainment sites. On Some medical resources It is claimed that frequent small meals contribute improvement of metabolism, accelerated digestion, weight loss, etc. Praise such a power system and specialists of the Ministry of Health of Russia, and Users social networks. Popular in the post -Soviet space - various diets, developed by the Soviet scientist Manuel Pevzner for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, are also based on the principle of fractional nutrition.

Fractional nutrition is methodwhich consists in frequent use of small portions of food. Instead of eating three times a day, with fractional nutrition, a person eats five to six times, but a little by little. At the same time, it is important to monitor the number of calories consumed, since otherwise such an approach can turn into overexposure and, as a result, a weight gain. In other words, the meaning of such a diet is precisely in the “crushing” of the same calorie content of the day diet for smaller parts, and not in the use of additional portions of food in between breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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

In 2015, American scientists conducted Meta analysis Existing studies in this regard came to the conclusion that although some experiments indicate a correlation between the frequency of meal and weight loss or maintaining it at the desired level, this data should be treated with caution. According to experts, it is impossible to unequivocally say that fractional nutrition helps to lose weight, based on existing information. To the same conclusion In the same 2015, their colleagues from the University of Tennessee, as well as scientists from Australia, who also held in 2009 also held review studies conducted at that time. Experts noted that in many scientific works indicating the effectiveness of fractional nutrition as a method of weight loss, important concomitant factors, such as physical activity, were not taken into account. “Verified” failed to find more fresh authoritative research or reviews that would refute the conclusions described above.

At the same time, experts of the International Society of Sports Nutrition Markthat, although fractional nutrition does not help to lose weight to people leading a sedentary lifestyle, it can still be useful for athletes. So, subject to a low -calorie diet and the consumption of a sufficient amount of protein, more frequent meals help to maintain muscle mass. The same Opinions Experts of the authoritative Cleveland Clinic (USA) adhere to the benefits of fractional nutrition for athletes.

Another common opinion about fractional nutrition is that it helps to accelerate metabolism, that is, the process of processing the calories obtained from foods into energy. However, experts of the authoritative medical research center "Clinic Mayo" (USA) argue that the rate of metabolism almost does not affect weight gain, with the exception of cases of serious and rather rare diseases. Be that as it may, fractional nutrition does not accelerate metabolism (at least to such conclusion The US-Japanese group of scientists came in 2013). 

In addition, in the process of metabolism, the body spends 5-10% of the calories he consumed on digestion, as well as the transportation of useful substances from it “at the address” is the so -called Thermal effect food. Fractional power supporters believe that the more often we eat, the more often this process starts and, accordingly, more calories are spent on food processing. However, “verified” it was not possible to find scientific evidence of the theory that there is some difference for the body in energy costs for digestion of 500 kcal at a time or five servings of 100 kcal.

Based on the results of the in 2010 research Scientists from the University of Syracuse (USA), more frequent meals help to increase blood sugar during the day in people without obesity. Eight people took part in the experiment, each of whom at first ate high -carbing food in three doses, then the same diet, but already in six tricks, and at the end - high -protein food in six tricks. For each of the stages of the experiment, one day was assigned. In the last of these power modes, the effect was less pronounced, since proteins less affect sugar production than carbohydrates. To the same conclusion A group of scientists from the Medical Center of the University of Maastricht (Netherlands) came about the influence of frequent meals on blood sugar in 2012 in the course of a similar study.

Scientists from the Czech Republic in 2013 also conducted a 24-week controlled studyin which 54 people with type 2 diabetes. The first 12 weeks they ate six times a day, and the next - only twice, and all this time a calorie deficit was observed in the diet. Experts three times measured the production of insulin and sensitivity to it in subjects: at the beginning of the study, before changing the power circuit and at the end of the study. It turned out that insulin began to be more actively produced, and sensitivity to it intensified with both scenarios of nutrition (probably due to a decrease in high-speed and generally a more thoughtful and healthy diet), but stronger-in the second half of the experiment. In addition, the participants in the study are more actively losing weight precisely when they ate only twice a day.

There is evidence that more frequent meals can help reduce the level of "bad" cholesterolincreasing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Scientists from Poznan University of Medical Sciences (Poland) in 2019 based on the indicators of health and food habits of 495 patients with a hospital at the university found outthat those who ate at least four times a day have the number of high density lipoproteins (HDLs) in the blood higher than those who eat three times a day. HDL is the so -called “good” cholesterol that neutralizes “bad” (low density lipoprotein, LDL) and reduces the risk of heart disease. Nevertheless, this study, apparently, did not take into account the overall calorie content of the food consumed, so it should be used when assessing the usefulness of fractional nutrition with caution. As for the level of LDL, then data Researchers from the University of Cambridge, in people who eat more than six times a day, it is lower than those who adhere to one- or two-time nutrition. 

In 2023, a group of scientists from China held a correlation study, during which she studied the frequency of eating and mortality among diabetes patients who took part in the national study of health and nutrition (NHANES) in the USA from 1999 to 2014 (almost 5,000 people in total). It turned out that mortality from cardiovascular diseases and cancer was lower in that group of people who ate four times a day and more often. Similar conclusions came from the USA and Taiwan who published the results in 2016 review The same NHANES, but already in 1988-1992. They found out that people who ate six times a day and more often, the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases was lower. Moreover, this trend was especially clearly traced among those who consumed a significant (from 2500 kcal) the number of calories daily; Recommended norm Calories for women - 2000, for men - 2500, although this indicator depends on the lifestyle, age and other factors.

Note that these are correlation studies, that is, in this case, one cannot say that it was more frequent meals of food that caused a decrease in mortality. Also, the authors of these scientific papers did not compare, for example, two- and six-pillars of the same calorie. In a Chinese study, women from the sample consumed from 500 to 3500 kcal daily, and men from 800 to 4200 kcal. Researchers from Taiwan and the United States only note that in general, those who ate more often, at a day ate more, but each meal, nevertheless, was less. But it is still impossible to consider this to be fully fractional nutrition. It is likely that some part of the subjects really consciously adhered to such a diet, but certainly not all. 

In addition, dentists Markthat frequent snacks during the day can harm the health of the tooth. This Related With the fact that bacteria that live in a dental raid - a thin, almost inconspicuous film on our teeth - when contacting sugar (and it is contained in one or another amount of food in many foods) or starch -containing foods produce acids. These acids can damage tooth enamel, and later cause caries. Accordingly, the more often we eat, the more often this process is repeated and the higher the risks for our teeth. 

Thus, at the moment, there is no consensus in the scientific world, whether fractional nutrition is more useful for health than the usual three -time, or, on the contrary, more harmful. According to researchers, for example, for weight loss, it is not so important how much food meals are broken by a daily diet - its total calorie and diversity are important. Some scientific works indicate that people who eat more often, healthier in several indicators (for example, in terms of “bad” cholesterol in the blood), but there is no evidence that one is a direct consequence of the other. At the same time, such studies have two significant restrictions. Firstly, many of them are based on food diaries or stories of the subjects about their food habits (and this is a relatively low-profile source, since it is impossible to check the accuracy and accuracy of these data), and secondly, these studies do not take into account the basic principle of fractional nutrition: the same number of calories can be consumed in a day, but in smaller portions. If a person does not follow the calorie content of his daily diet, but decides to eat more often, this can lead to overeating and weight gain.

This is not for sure

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Is it true that you can get a stomach ulcer from irregular nutrition?
2. Is it true that there is harmful at night?
3. Is it true that drinking during food is harmful to digestion?
4. Is it true that separate nutrition is an effective way of losing weight?