Study did not get ethical approval, therefore study was not initiated

The primary purpose of this study is to identify the effect of meal frequency on blood pressure (BP) levels of individuals.

Migration studies, observational epidemiology and clinical trial data indicate that causes of adverse BP levels are mainly environmental , including lifestyle under which dietary factors play a role. Therefore, lifestyle modification is part of the current American Heart Association recommendations for prevention and control of adverse BP levels.

Although the effects of nutrients and foods on BP have been studied extensively, other dietetic factors such as eating frequency and number of meals in a day have been less thoroughly investigated and warrant further research to explore their possible positive effect on BP.

Inclusion Criteria:

Healthy individuals aged 35-70 years with prehypertension (systolic/diastolic BP 120-139/80-89 mm Hg) BMI 20-30 kg/m2 non-smoking non alcoholic drinkers

Exclusion Criteria:

• Weight change of ≥ 3kg in the preceding 2 months
• Current smokers
• Substance abuse
• Alcohol intake
• Pregnancy
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Cancer
• Gastrointestinal disease e.g. inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease
• Pancreatitis
• Use of medications including: anti inflammatory drugs or steroids, antihypertensive drugs, cholesterol lowering medication, androgens, phenytoin, erythromycin or thyroid hormones.