If spreading your calories across the day helps keep your appetite① under control， eating small， frequent meals rather than three large ones could help. But whether， as many people believe， eating small meals makes a difference metabolically (by forcing your body to burn more calories) is doubtful. While animal studies have suggested that small meals promote less storage of fat， this has never been demonstrated in humans. Also， government studies of Americans diets have found that， generally， the more times a day people eat， the more calories they consume， says David A. Levitsky， Ph.D. ， professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University. And calories consumption is more important than the timing of meals when determining② body weight.
When one decides which is better three meals or six？ You had better listen to your body. If feel hungry， eat. If not， don’t. If doubling the number of your meals makes you feel better， fine. But if you’re feeling healthy the way you are， don’t rock the boat③. Ultimately， what you eat is a lot more important than when.
① appetiten. 胃口，食欲
② determinevt. 决定；判决；确定 vi. 决定
③ rock the boat做某事从而使局面等失去了平衡
少食多餐有助减肥
如果分配一天摄入的卡路里可以控制你的食欲，那么少食多餐比一日三餐有效。但少食多餐是否像人们相信的那样产生了代谢的变化(迫使身体燃耗更多的卡路里)却不一定。尽管动物实验表明少食多餐可以促使身体贮藏更少的脂肪，然而这一点在人体上并无显示。而且官方的美国人饮食研究发现，总的来说，一天中人进食次数越多，他消耗的卡路里越多。这是康奈尔大学营养和心理学教授戴卫·赖维茨基的观点。(在决定人体体重时)卡路里的消耗比进食时间更为重要。
当一个人要决定一日三顿或六顿哪一样更好时，最好听从自己身体的感觉。如果你感觉饥饿，那么就吃；如果不饿，那就不吃。如果增加进食次数使你感觉健康，那很好。但是如果你觉得现在很健康，那么别随意改动使身体失去平衡。归根结底，你吃什么比你什么时候吃要重要得多。
