You probably know the feeling. The kitchen is closed, the dishes are done, and you still find yourself opening the fridge for one last snack before bed. For many of us it is just how the day ends.
A new study of nearly 200,000 people suggests that habit may come at a cost. Those who regularly ate after dinner or around bedtime had a 20 to 30 percent higher risk of liver disease, according to researchers at Oregon Health & Science University.
The findings were published in October 2026 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The team drew on large US health datasets, including the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
The pattern was consistent. People who ate late were more likely to develop fatty liver disease or cirrhosis, a severe form of liver scarring.
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Why timing matters for the liver
The liver works on a daily clock. During the day it helps break down and store sugars and fats from food. At night, it shifts into repair and reset mode. Eating late can disrupt that rhythm.
"We know the liver is very much in tune with the body's circadian rhythms," said Robert Wilechansky, a hepatologist at OHSU and the study's lead author.
When food lands in the body during hours meant for sleep, the systems that handle it work less efficiently. Fat and sugar then linger longer in the bloodstream and can build up in the liver.
What the finding means for your plate
Fatty liver disease, now known in medical terms as metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease, affects as much as 30 percent of US adults. Most people who have it do not know it, because early fatty liver often causes no symptoms.
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Only a small share of those cases progress to cirrhosis. But because fatty liver is so common, even a modest shift in risk affects many people.
The researchers caution that the study is observational. It can show a link, not prove that late eating causes liver damage. People who eat at night may share other habits that raise their risk, such as poor sleep or less physical activity.
Even so, the direction of the evidence lines up with earlier work. Previous research has tied late evening meals to higher heart risk and worse blood sugar control.
The practical takeaway is a kitchen cutoff. Finishing your last meal a few hours before bed may give your body time to handle the food while its systems are still fully switched on.
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Wilechansky is now running a clinical study at OHSU to measure meal timing directly in patients with existing fatty liver disease. The trial will test whether eating earlier can slow or reverse the condition.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.