Meal Schedules Are Linked to Insulin Response, Lipid Levels in Healthy Obese Women

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Farshchi HR, Taylor MA, Macdonald IA: Beneficial metabolic effects of regular meal frequency on dietary thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and fasting lipid profiles in healthy obese women. Am J Clin Nutr 81:16-24, 2005.

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Many people don’t eat regular meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner at accepted mealtimes). Teenagers are even more likely to eat their meals at random times throughout the day.

Researchers wanted to find out if people who eat at regular mealtimes are healthier than people who eat at irregular mealtimes.

Who was studied?

A total of 10 obese women who were otherwise healthy. Their ages ranged from 32 to 47 years.

How was the study done?

The study had 2 phases. One phase studied the women while they followed a regular meal schedule. The other phase studied the women while they followed an irregular meal schedule.

Five women were started on the regular meal schedule. They stayed on this schedule for 2 weeks. Then they followed an irregular meal schedule for 2 weeks.

The other 5 women went through the phases in the opposite order.

All the women wrote down what they ate and when they ate it for 3 days before the study started and for 3 days during each of phase of the study.

During the study, researchers took blood samples from the women when they hadn't had anything to eat. Then the women drank a milkshake and had more blood samples drawn. Researchers also noted the womens' weight, hip and waist size.

What did the researchers find?

The womens' weight and other size measurements didn't change no matter when the women ate.

Insulin response is a measure of how well the body handles carbohydrates. Poor insulin response is a sign that a person is on the way to getting type 2 diabetes. In this study, blood tests showed that insulin response was better with a regular meal schedule.

Fasting blood tests also showed higher levels of lipids (fat) in the blood with irregular meal schedules.

What were the limitations of the study?

The amount of food the women ate may not have been accurate because the women kept track of it themselves. Because the women only tracked what they ate for 3 days, their eating habits on the other days may have affected the results. The study was too short to show if meal regularity can make a difference in weight.

What are the implications of the study?

Regular meals may improve the body's response to carbohydrates and fats.