We've all heard the saying 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper¹' – now a large study has hailed it a successful weight loss strategy.

我们都曾听过“早餐要吃好、午餐要吃饱、晚餐要吃少”这句话，而现在一项大型研究表明，这还是一个减肥的好方法。

And slimmers see better results if they skip dinner altogether, the researchers also discovered.

研究人员还发现，减肥的人不吃晚餐效果还会更好。

The idea of having a hearty² breakfast to boost our metabolism³ and set ourselves up for the day is popular with a host of stars including Angelina Jolie and Kelly Osbourne.

一顿丰盛的早餐可以促进新陈代谢，让我们一整天都充满能量，这种做法在包括安吉丽娜·朱莉和凯莉·奥斯本等一众明星间都非常流行。

After studying 50,000 adults, the researchers also recommend fasting overnight for up to 18 hours.

在对5万名成年人进行调查之后，研究人员还建议人们晚上禁食18个小时。

They wrote in the Journal of Nutrition: 'Our results suggest that in relatively⁴ healthy adults, eating less frequently, no snacking, consuming breakfast, and eating the largest meal in the morning may be effective methods for preventing long-term weight gain.

他们在《营养学》期刊上写道：“我们的研究结果表明，在相对健康的成年人间，少吃多餐、不吃零食、吃早餐、把早餐作为一天中最丰盛的一餐，可能是预防长期增重的有效方法。”

'Eating breakfast and lunch five to six hours apart and making the overnight fast last 18 to 19 hours may be a useful practical strategy.'

“早午餐之间间隔5到6个小时，晚上禁食18到19个小时可能对减肥很有用。”

People who made breakfast the largest meal saw a more significant decrease in their BMI than those who made lunch their most calorific meal.

相比于那些在午餐时摄入大量卡路里的人来说，把早餐作为一天中最丰盛一餐的人，身体质量指数会更低。

Eating more than three meals per day – snacks were counted as extra meals – and making supper the largest meal of the day were associated with a higher BMI.

每天吃超过三顿饭（零食另算），把晚餐作为一天中最丰盛一餐的人，身体质量指数则要更高一些。