People who eat after dinner or at bedtime are up to 30% more likely to develop liver disease than those who do not, according to new research involving around 200,000 people.
The conditions identified include metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), where too much fat builds up in the liver, and cirrhosis, which causes the organ to become scarred and damaged.
Body clock link
Researchers believe the link could be connected to the body's internal clock, which helps regulate how our bodies work across the day and night.
Lead author Dr Robert Wilechansky, from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), said: "We know the liver is very much in tune with the body's circadian rhythms. So we're interested in changing the timing of eating in a way that could make a difference in health without changing the composition of what people eat."
Study findings
The research, published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, looked at eating habits and liver disease among people in the US.
Dr Wilechansky stressed that developing fatty liver disease does not mean someone will go on to develop its most serious forms. He said: "It's important to remember, of the people who developed fatty liver disease, only a small fraction develop serious forms of the condition like liver cirrhosis. Even so, the big take-away here is that confining your calorie intake to several hours before bedtime might be beneficial."
Night-time metabolism
Dr Andrew McHill, a sleep and circadian physiologist at OHSU, said researchers were increasingly finding that when people eat, sleep and exercise could be important to their health.
He said: "We are seeing over and over again that the timing of behaviours, whether it's sleep, eating or exercise, really matters. For example, we have shown that eating during the night, when the internal biological clock is promoting sleep, reduces the ability of your body to metabolise foods as efficiently and can eventually lead to obesity, diabetes and now poor liver health."
Liver disease can take several forms and some people experience no symptoms. Signs of cirrhosis can include feeling tired or weak, losing your appetite, itchy skin, feeling or being sick, jaundice and a loss of sex drive.
The latest findings follow separate research from the University of Oxford which suggested the body's ability to process sugar and fat worsens overnight. Scientists studying MASLD found the processes that can cause fat to build up in the liver became more pronounced at night. The liver produced more fat, while the body also became less responsive to insulin – the hormone which helps control blood sugar.
Those problems continued even after participants lost weight and reduced the amount of fat in their liver, leading researchers to suggest night-time changes in the body's metabolism could play an important role in the disease.
MASLD, previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, is thought to affect around 40% of adults worldwide. While many people will not develop severe disease, more advanced forms can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.
