Understanding the science of meal timing and how to eat with your body's natural rhythms can support metabolic health and overall wellness. As more and more people begin to understand that health is so much more than what we weigh, the interest in metabolic health grows. Metabolic health considers how well the body processes food and nutrients, and could be a better predictor of long-term health than weight alone.

Exercise, food, and supplements are usually the first things that come to mind when we think about how to improve our metabolism, but there's one other important factor: meal frequency.

How often we eat can be one way to impact our metabolism, but there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Here's a look at what the research says about finding the right meal frequency for metabolic health (spoiler alert: it depends on the individual).

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Metabolism Is A Big Part of Metabolic Health

Let's take a second to break down metabolism, metabolic health, and how they are related. 

• Metabolism measures how quickly your body turns food into energy. A faster metabolism means your body burns calories quicker, while a slower metabolism means the opposite.

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is how many calories your body burns at rest. Even when you aren't actively moving, your metabolism is humming away in the background, running all of the processes that keep you alive.

• Metabolic health measures how well your metabolism is working. It looks at all the ways your metabolism influences your health. It's not just about how many calories you burn (although this is foundational and important), but also how efficiently the body uses the nutrients you obtain from your food to drive all the functions in your body. 

Because all of this influences the health of your body as a whole—from your brain to your heart to your hormones—it's essential to optimize metabolic health for long-term well-being.

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What Affects Your Metabolic Rate?

Metabolic rate is individualized, and a lot of different variables can impact how slow or fast a person's metabolism is, including:

• Gender
• Age
• Muscle mass and body composition
• Health status (metabolic rate goes up with illness or fever)
• Thyroid function
• Medications

In other words, some people are naturally predisposed to have a faster metabolism (lucky them!), while others have to work a little harder.

Signs of a Healthy Metabolism

When metabolism is working optimally, you should feel good—energetic, vibrant, and able to think clearly. If your metabolism is out of whack, you might feel fatigued, have brain fog or unhealthy food cravings. 

Other signs that your metabolism could use a tune-up include:

• Weight gain or difficulty losing weight.
• Mood changes, such as irritability or anxiety.
• Sleep problems.
• Digestive issues.
• Hormonal imbalances.

If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, it's a good idea to talk to your health care provider to rule out any health issues that could be contributing.

Does Eating More Often Increase Metabolic Rate?

You may have heard that eating more often can increase metabolic rate. Or maybe you've heard it's better to eat less often. So what's the truth?

The reality is that studies are mixed on whether eating more often can increase metabolism. 

It likely depends on the individual. Someone who skips meals earlier in the day, but ends up eating all their calories later on will probably notice improvements by eating four or five smaller meals throughout the day because they will feel less hungry and make better food choices.

Similarly, someone who has consistently followed an overly-restrictive diet that stresses out the body will notice that eating more often (and more calories) can help to normalize metabolism.

But for someone who regularly eats without over-restriction, there may not be much of a difference in metabolic rate when meals are spaced closer together or further apart. 

One thing to note: You may hear that eating more often could boost metabolism because of the thermic effect of food. The thermic effect of food refers to the calories burned in the process of digesting and metabolizing food. 

It's true that the thermic effect of food increases with more frequent eating. Still, if you eat a 500-calorie breakfast or two 250-calorie snacks, there's virtually no difference in the number of calories you'll burn digesting those meals. 

Even if eating more often doesn't boost metabolism, it could have other benefits for certain people.