Late-Night Snacking Linked to Higher Risk of Liver Disease
A study involving nearly 200,000 participants suggests that late-night eating is associated with a 20 to 30% higher risk of liver diseases like MASLD and cirrhosis. Researchers believe this link may be due to the disruption of the body's natural circadian rhythms.
Why it matters
As fatty liver disease affects a large portion of the population, these findings suggest that simple behavioral changes in meal timing could have significant public health benefits.
Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University and Massachusetts General Hospital have found that people who reported eating late at night had a 20 to 30% higher risk of liver disease than those who did not.
Reaching for a snack after dinner or before bed may carry a cost beyond extra calories. Image credit: Jill Wellington.
“Night shift workers grapple with misalignment of the body’s natural day-night cycle, with elevated rates of obesity and heart disease,” said Dr. Robert Wilechansky, a hepatologist at Oregon Health & Science University.
“With as much as 30% of the U.S. population affected by fatty liver disease, we wondered whether small changes in timing meals might make a difference.”
“We know the liver is very much in tune with the body’s circadian rhythms.”
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