For white people, eating the biggest meal at lunch seems to help prevent weight gain more than it does for Black people — suggesting that the same eating pattern might not work the same way for everyone.

Whether you’re male or female, young or old, or active or not, eating meals at certain times still seems to affect your weight the same way — the pattern holds up for most people.

The healthiest pattern for avoiding weight gain seems to be eating just two meals — breakfast and lunch — with a few hours between them, and then not eating again until the next morning.

People who eat just one or two meals a day tend to gain less weight each year than those who eat three meals a day, even if they’re eating the same amount of food.

Even though older people tend to lose weight as they age, those who eat fewer meals or skip snacks still gain less weight than others their age — meaning meal habits matter no matter how old you are.

Each year, these eating habits only change your weight by a tiny bit — but over 20 or 30 years, that adds up to a big difference in whether you stay lean or gain a lot of weight.