Three meals a day proves successful formula.

• Position: Dieting - Brief article

Eating fewer, regular-sized meals with higher amounts of lean proteins can make one feel more full than ingesting smaller, more frequent meals, according to research at the University of Missouri, Columbia. "We found that when eating high amounts of protein, men who were trying to lose weight felt fuller throughout the day; they also experienced a reduction in late-night desire to eat and had fewer thoughts of food," explains Heather J. Leidy an assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology.

"We also discovered that despite the common trend of eating smaller, more frequent meals, eating frequency had relatively no beneficial impact on appetite control. The larger meals led to reductions in appetite, and people felt full. We want to emphasize, though, that these three larger meals were restricted in calories and reflected appropriate portion sizes to be effective in weight loss.

"Our advice for people trying to lose weight is to add a moderate amount of protein at three regular meals a day to help appetite control and the feeling of fullness."

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