A few snacks a day keep the fat away

SNACKING may be the way for men to lose weight, according to Sandra Drummond and Terry Kirk of the department of dietetics and nutrition at Edinburgh's Queen Margaret College. A study of 100 men and women, sponsored by Mars Confectionery, found that men who consumed more snacks throughout the day weighed less and were more active. But women maintained their normal body weight irrespective of the level of snacking.

The researchers believe that more frequent eaters may have compensated for their increased energy intake by being more active and eating more frequent but smaller meals.