Cutting out mid-meal snacks leads to weight loss: Professor Tim Spector

This is what moms have been saying to babies for generations.

Today, a leading nutrition expert says his advice not to eat between meals is backed up by scientific data.

Professor Tim Spector insisted that one of the simplest ways to lose weight is a blanket ban on all foods outside of meals.

He said the evidence suggests that snacking between meals doesn’t ruin your appetite for dinner – as moms warn – but “ultra-processed” snacks like cookies and chips make you hungrier and therefore prone to eat more food.

Professor Spector, an expert in genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said: “If people are concerned about their health and weight, they should avoid eating between meals.

“It’s really remarkable that people in Mediterranean countries, who don’t have the same level of obesity problem we see in Britain, generally don’t snack between meals.

“The concept that people will suffer if they don’t eat something at 11am and 4pm is strange and recent.”