Eating less more often won't shift weight

EATING smaller meals more often does not help overweight people shed their kilos any faster, according to research that debunks a popular dieting myth.

Dieticians have tested the commonly-held theory that splitting daily food intake into five or six snack-type meals speeds up fat-burning.

In a study of 179 obese Australians, they found no weight-loss advantage from following such a diet.

"There seems to be little benefit to changing how often or how regularly you eat if you're trying to lose weight," said lead researcher Michelle Palmer, a dietician at the University of Newcastle.

"We found it's not when you eat that matters, but what and how much you eat."