People who eat fewer meals often have other bad habits like smoking or not exercising — so it’s not the meal count that causes belly fat, it’s those other habits.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (3)
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People who eat fewer meals a day are more likely to smoke, drink more alcohol, and not exercise—and they also tend to have more belly fat. This study found those connections, so it supports the idea that eating less often goes hand-in-hand with unhealthy habits and more belly fat.
Kids who didn’t move much and watched too much TV had more belly fat, and when these bad habits happened together, the problem got worse—showing that unhealthy habits like skipping meals often come in groups and make weight gain worse.
This study found that teens who ate irregularly, sat around a lot, and didn’t move much were more likely to have belly fat—showing that bad habits like skipping meals go together with inactivity and lead to weight gain.
Contradicting (1)
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Kids who ate more often throughout the day had less belly fat than those who ate fewer meals—so skipping meals might not be the problem; eating more often might actually help you stay slimmer.