Eating dinner late at night may be more than just a digestion issue. A cardiologist has explained that regularly eating very late could be linked with cardiovascular health, as meal timing can influence the body's internal clock and metabolism.
Dr Sanjeev Gera, senior director and head of cardiology at Fortis Hospital, Noida, said emerging research suggests that when people eat may matter alongside what they eat.
He referred to a large 2023 study involving more than 1 lakh adults, who were followed for a median of 7.2 years. During the study period, researchers recorded more than 2,000 new cardiovascular events, including coronary heart disease, stroke and transient ischemic attacks.
According to Dr Gera, the body's circadian rhythm plays an important role in regulating sleep, hormones, blood pressure and metabolism. Eating very late or at irregular times may interfere with this natural cycle and affect processes such as blood sugar control, insulin sensitivity and cortisol levels.
The timing of the final meal may therefore be worth considering. The study found that people whose last meal was after 9 pm had a higher risk of cerebrovascular disease compared with those who ate before 8 pm.
Cerebrovascular diseases involve problems with blood flow to the brain and include serious conditions such as stroke and brain bleeding.
However, Dr Gera stressed that the findings should not be interpreted as proof that eating after 9 pm directly causes heart or brain disease. The study was observational, meaning it identified an association rather than establishing a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
Late-night eating may also be connected with other lifestyle habits. People who eat dinner very late may tend to sleep later or have less regular meal schedules, which can independently influence overall health.
For people with busy work schedules or long commutes, avoiding an occasional late dinner may not always be practical. But maintaining a reasonably consistent eating schedule and avoiding unnecessarily late meals could be one part of a broader heart-healthy lifestyle.
Ultimately, heart health depends on several factors, including diet quality, physical activity, sleep, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other individual health conditions. Dinner timing can be considered as part of that overall picture rather than as a single factor determining cardiovascular risk.
Reader Comments 0