NOTES AND COMMENTS

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LVI, Issue 88, 19 November 1935, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS

SPACING OF MEALS

An article in "The Lancet" draws attention to a new and rather surprising aspect of nutrition. The Physiological Research Department at Yale University has just completed an inquiry on the "spacing" of meals and its effects on groups of American workers. It found that physical efficiency varied considerably each day, rising to its highest peak shortly after a meal and falling sharply a long time after a meal. By increasing the number of meals without increasing the total quantity of food, it was possible to increase a man's output, and a glass of milk and a slice of cake in the middle of the morning made a remarkable difference. The investigators also found what kind of food best revived energy and for what reason, but this, remarks the "Manchester Guardian," does not affect the conclusions. These are, briefly, that contrary to general belief, "snacks" are not harmful (at least on a short-term view) and that for a labourer it is unecomonic to eat light meals at breakfast and lunch and a heavy meal at night when his work is over.