Does the timing of caloric intake (when and how many meals eaten) have
an effect on body weight when all other things are equal? If a person
expends through activity the exact amount of calories he consumes will
his weight stay the same regardless of whether he eats one big meal
per day or 6 small meals?

There is certainly good evidence that frequency and timing of caloric
intake has effects on metabolism and therefore presumably in the long
term on weight, all other things being equal.
e.g.
Meal size and frequency: effect on the thermic effect of food.
MM Tai, P Castillo and FX Pi-Sunyer. American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, Vol 54, 783-787.

"Background: Although a regular meal pattern is recommended for obese
people, its effects on energy metabolism have not been examined.

Objective: We investigated whether a regular meal frequency affects
energy intake (EI), energy expenditure, or circulating insulin,
glucose, and lipid concentrations in healthy obese women.

Design: Ten women [ ± SD body mass index (in kg/m2): 37.1 ± 4.8]
participated in a randomized crossover trial. In phase 1 (14 d), the
subjects consumed their normal diet on 6 occasions/d (regular meal
pattern) or followed a variable meal frequency (3?9 meals/d, irregular
meal pattern). In phase 2 (14 d), the subjects followed the
alternative pattern. At the start and end of each phase, a test meal
was fed, and blood glucose, lipid, and insulin concentrations were
determined before and for 3 h after (glucose and insulin only) the
test meal. Subjects recorded their food intake on 3 d during each
phase. The thermogenic response to the test meal was ascertained by
indirect calorimetry.

Results: Regular eating was associated with lower EI (P < 0.01),
greater postprandial thermogenesis (P < 0.01), and lower fasting total
(4.16 compared with 4.30 mmol/L; P < 0.01) and LDL (2.46 compared with
2.60 mmol/L; P < 0.02) cholesterol. Fasting glucose and insulin values
were not affected by meal pattern, but peak insulin concentrations and
area under the curve of insulin responses to the test meal were lower
after the regular than after the irregular meal pattern (P < 0.01 and
0.02, respectively).

Conclusion: Regular eating has beneficial effects on fasting lipid and
postprandial insulin profiles and thermogenesis."

The thermic effect of food is certainly something to consider, BUT the
reality is that unless you are considerably obese, it's body
composition altering effects are very small in the "real world". There
are more important reasons to eat smaller, more frequent meals instead
of one large meal. Some of which are:

* Lower and steady insulin levels thorughout the day, which leads to
more steady energy throughout the day. This will improve insulin
resistance as well. Eating one large meal tends to increase insulin
resistance and set the stage for chronic hypoglycemia (among other
things).

* Better nutrient utilization. Eating one large meal a day tends to
increase the amount of calories your body stores as fat, regardless of
how much you eat (or don't eat) later in the day. Smaller more
frequent meals ensure that the entire meal will be assimilated and
used by the body. Less will be stored as fat.

Those two points alone will have a greater impact on your body
composition(lean muscle-to-fat ratio). Provided you aren't eating
donuts at each of those meals, in which case none of this matters!

Anthony Ellis
Learn <a href="http://www.fastmusclegain.com/">How to Gain Weight</a><br>