Six Meals A Day Could Prevent Heart Disease, According To New Study

31 Aug 2016 --- Eating 6 smaller meals or snacks a day instead of 3-4 normal size meals, could help consumers reduce their risk of developing heart disease by more than 30%.

The research, conducted by Johns Hopkins University and Baltimore University, looked at more than 7,000 participants, and monitored them over a 14-year period. The paper was published on the Annals of Epidemiology.

Researchers found that participants that ate a meal or snack at least six times per day had more than a 30% reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who ate larger meals 3-4 times a day.

Throughout the study, 1280 participants died, 503 of them from cardiovascular disease.

Interestingly, the authors found that by eating larger amounts of smaller portions, the dangers to heart health appeared to subside even if the overall daily intake exceeds recommended levels of 2,500 calories for men and 2,000 for women.

The researchers believe the findings could be due to the fact that the body finds it easier to metabolize small amounts of food regularly, rather than larger meals less frequently.

Hsin-Jen Chen, Professor of Institute of Public Health at the National Yang-Ming University told NutritionInsight: "Although spreading a given amount of calories into more eating occasions may bring metabolic benefits and prevent cardiovascular death, but the practice should be well planned. In a real life setting, people could eat more calories when eating more times a day. Thus, eat mindfully is very important."

"The current needs would be to enhance people's awareness of the potential benefits of splitting a given amount of daily calorie intake into more eating occasions," Chen explained, "Nevertheless, our findings also open further questions to be answered, since the daily frequency of eating occasion is a complex phenomenon that involves meal skipping, snacking behaviors, and meal/snack timing. More data are needed to find out what eating patterns are the best for public health recommendation." 

These findings could cause many western countries to re think the norms when it comes to eating habits. With many people used to eating breakfast lunch and dinner, the new evidence in favor of eating less more often could get people to rethink how they eat during the day, instead of just what they’re eating. 

However, researchers stated that a six-meals-a-day diet is only beneficial if the diet is rich in fruit and vegetables and low in junk food, advising that the eating structure should only be adapted if people are willing to ensure their diet is healthy. 

by Hannah Gardiner