Late-night meals may raise liver disease risk by up to 30 percent

In a large U.S. cohort of about 200,000 people, scientists observed that consuming food after dinner or close to bedtime was associated with a 30% greater risk of liver conditions such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and cirrhosis. The study, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, points to disruptions in the circadian clock as a possible mechanism, affecting the liver's ability to metabolize nutrients at night.

Lead author Robert Wilechansky of Oregon Health and Science University emphasized that adjusting meal timing, rather than diet content, might protect liver health. Co-author Andrew McHill noted that the timing of eating, sleeping, and exercise increasingly appears crucial for metabolic diseases. While most cases involve mild fatty liver, a small fraction progress to serious disease, underscoring the potential benefit of restricting eating to earlier hours.