The time of day you have your 'big' meal is very important if you want to lose weight

If you’re trying to lose weight, perhaps you should be paying more attention to when you eat – rather than what you eat.

That’s the conclusion of new study by researchers from the Loma Linda University School of Public Health – which found that the timing of meals plays a big role in predicting weight loss (or gain).

The researchers used information from 50,000 participants in a health study – and found four factors which led (on average) to a decrease in body mass index (ie losing weight).

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These were: eating only one or two meals per day; maintaining an overnight fast of up to 18 hours; eating breakfast instead of skipping it; and making breakfast or lunch the largest meal of the day.

The two factors associated with high BMI were eating more than three meals per day (including having snacks) – and making the evening meal the largest of the day.

Researcher Hana Kahleova says the findings confirm an old nutritional maxim: ‘Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.’

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