Increased meal frequency does not promote greater weight loss in subjects who were prescribed an 8-week equi-energetic energy-restricted diet
Cameron JD, Cyr MJ, Doucet É
Evidence is still building up
Summary
An RCT in 16 adults with obesity randomised to three meals a day or three meals plus three snacks, under the same energy restriction (−2931 kJ/day) for eight weeks. Body weight fell 4.7% overall, with significant reductions in fat mass, lean mass and BMI — but **no difference between the low- and high-frequency groups** in adiposity indices, appetite measures, or gut peptides (peptide YY and ghrelin).
Verification breakdown
- Bibliography
- Checked against Crossref
- Content
- The text of this record has been checked against the original abstractWhat was checked: sample size, measured outcomes, study design, population studied
- Editorial review
Bibliographic checks are made by querying Crossref and PubMed. Content checks are made by AI matching the record against the original abstract; they are not expert judgements of validity. Every record is reviewed by the site operator before publication. What has not been checked is shown rather than hidden. About our verification process
Key findings
- 1
With energy restriction matched, meal frequency made no difference to weight loss
- 2
Appetite measures did not differ between groups
- 3
Gut peptides (peptide YY, ghrelin) did not differ either
- 4
Overall the group lost 4.7% of body weight and 3.1 kg of fat mass
- 5
Only 16 participants completed — a small trial
Related research
Articles featuring this study
Last checked: