Night Eating Linked to Higher Liver Disease Risk, Study Finds
A large-scale study of nearly 200,000 adults has linked late-night eating to an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and cirrhosis. The findings suggest that meal timing may be as important as diet composition for liver health.
Why it matters
This research provides actionable health advice regarding circadian rhythms and dietary habits to prevent chronic liver conditions.
Reaching for a snack before bed may seem harmless enough, but new research suggests it could be putting your liver health at risk.In a study of nearly 200,000 adults, people who reported eating late at night had a nearly 40 percent higher risk of metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the condition previously called fatty liver disease, than their peers who didn’t eat late. They also had a nearly 30 percent higher risk of cirrhosis, or severe liver scarring.“We know the liver is very much in tune with the body’s circadian rhythms,” says Robert Wilechansky, MD, a study coauthor and a hepatologist at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
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