Eating caused her rate of calories burned per minute to double for about half an hour after each meal.
Does this mean those 90s bodybuilders were right about eating small frequent meals to stimulate metabolism and burn calories more often?
Yes but if she was a 30 year old, 5ā5", 65kg female then she is burning about 30 calories per half hour keeping herself alive.
The difference between 3 and 6 meals is then 90 kcals for this particular individual. Now there is also likely error in that because the bigger meals probably keep your metabolism up for a slightly longer period. I remember reading the difference could be as low as 20kcals.
Not insignificant but not enough to warrant a change if 3 meals per day is easier for your lifestyle/easier for you to keep your eating in check with. Especially when you take measurement errors - especially what people are eating - into account.
The thermic effect of food, which is the calories expended to digest the food you eat, is determined by total intake, not frequency.
So, whether 3,000 calories are eaten as two 1,500 calorie meals, three 1,000 calorie meals, or six 500 calorie meals the calories burned/thermic effect/metabolism boost will be equal.
Oh man! No weight loss freebie short cuts.