I have to disagree about the snacking. I think it's more about portion control than how frequently you eat. The ideal is actually that you eat a little bit constantly because that keeps your metabolism up and your blood sugar stable. Obviously, we're not cows and we have other things to do than eat so this is not possible, but I've heard from many nutritionists that having 5 smaller meals a day or three meals and two snacks is optimal.
That way you don't ever really get hungry and over compensate during meals by overeating. This means that your regular meals have to be smaller though.
The thing is most Americans do not eating balanced meals. Either they eat dairy and carb heavy foods or they just diet by not eating much. But that actually slows your metabolism and makes your body try to retain pounds because it thinks you're starving. I think it says a lot that grains were the biggest portion in he food pyramid up til a few years ago. Now it's veggies and fruits as it should be. I'm Asian and after eating homemade food that's a tiny bowl of rice and lots of vegetable dishes, I was really confused to go over to a friend's house and see that spaghetti and meatballs is an actual meal. That's the definition of unbalanced!
Interestingly though, apparently obesity rates in China have doubled in the last decade or so as fast food is being imported from the US and more people can afford meat. It's ironic because over there to some people KFC or McDonalds is kind of a treat, considered "better" because it's western.