People who habitually eat after dinner face a higher risk of liver conditions including fatty liver disease and cirrhosis than those who do not, according to a new study. The findings suggest that meal timing, not just the type and amount of food consumed, can affect liver health.
Nightly Snacking Linked to 36% Higher Fatty Liver Risk, 28% Higher Cirrhosis Risk
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and Massachusetts General Hospital published a joint study analyzing the link between late-night eating and the risk of developing liver disease, the New York Post reported.
The team examined dietary habits and health records from 199,155 participants in two U.S. nurses' health studies and one follow-up study of health professionals. The median follow-up period was about 16 years.
The study classified late-night eating as consuming food after dinner or after a participant's usual bedtime.
Those who ate late at night had a 36% higher risk of developing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) than those who did not. Their risk of developing cirrhosis was 28% higher.
The associations held even after accounting for other factors including age, body mass index (BMI), daily caloric intake, diabetes status, alcohol consumption and physical activity.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease is a condition in which excess fat accumulates in the liver. It may cause no noticeable symptoms in its early stages, but in some patients, inflammation and liver damage progress and can lead to cirrhosis, a condition in which scarring hardens liver tissue and impairs normal liver function.
Late-Night Eaters Face Higher Liver Disease Risk, Researchers Urge Cutting Pre-Bedtime Food
Dr. Robert Wyllie-Chansky, a gastroenterology and liver disease specialist at Oregon Health & Science University who led the study, said the liver is closely connected to the body's circadian rhythms. "We are looking at whether adjusting meal timing, without changing the type of food people eat, can benefit health," the researcher said.
The human body regulates sleep and wakefulness, hormone secretion and energy metabolism on a cycle of roughly 24 hours. The liver is also influenced by this internal clock.
At night, when the body is preparing to rest, the metabolic functions that process food may operate differently than during daytime hours. Eating at that time can create an imbalance between circadian rhythms and metabolic activity, according to the researchers.
Andrew McHill, an associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University and a co-author of the study, said researchers continue to confirm that the timing of everyday behaviors such as sleeping, eating and exercising matters for health.
Eating at night, when the body's internal clock is preparing for sleep, may reduce the body's ability to metabolize food efficiently, the professor added.
The findings alone, however, cannot establish that late-night eating directly causes fatty liver disease or cirrhosis. The researchers analyzed dietary habits and health information that participants reported through surveys. The study therefore identified an association between late-night eating and the development of liver disease but did not prove cause and effect.
Only a fraction of people who develop fatty liver disease progress to serious conditions such as cirrhosis, the specialist said.
The researchers said that cutting back on food for several hours before bedtime may help protect liver health, though further study is needed to confirm any actual preventive effect.
The findings were published on the 9th in the international journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
