Nutrition

Should you eat three big meals or many mini-meals?

And so the notion of eating six or more "mini-meals" each day, just enough to fuel your body and tide you over until your next bites, has often been recommended as a more waistline-friendly dieting approach than eating three larger meals. But science evolves, and the answer to whether you should eat many mini-meals or three bigger meals is no longer a straightforward one.

Eat more, earlier in the day, to lose weight

You might skip breakfast. At lunch, you may opt for a salad with lots of veggies, no croutons and low-fat dressing -- on the side, of course.

Then, three o'clock hits.

You're incredibly hungry and craving candy, sweets or chips. You finally cave, eating a candy bar or other treat.

By 6 p.m., you're tearing the kitchen apart, snacking on anything you see.

School using fresh food to change lives

Sunset State School in Mount Isa offers students breakfast, morning tea, and lunch free of charge — something teachers say is helping the entire community.

"It's available to everyone that comes here — any families, any children, any background," said principal Bryon Burke.

"We believe it's highly beneficial for our school and our kids, and certainly that's what the data is telling us."

Attendance rates improve

The index of community socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) ranks schools according to their level of educational advantage.