Stress and Late-Night Eating Tied to 2.5x Bowel Risk
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- Dr. Harika Dadigiri's team at New York Medical College analyzed 11,000+ NHANES participants and found that those consuming more than 25% of daily calories after 9 p.m. under high allostatic load had 1.7x higher risk of constipation or diarrhea.
- A second cohort of 4,000+ American Gut Project participants with both high stress and late-night eating showed 2.5x higher odds of bowel issues, plus reduced gut microbiome diversity — a finding researchers link to disruption of the gut-brain axis.
- Dadigiri described the combination as a "double hit" to the gut, affecting both digestive function and beneficial bacteria: "It's not what you eat, but when you eat it."
- The study, titled "Beyond sleep alone: How stress and late-night eating disrupt bowel habits and gut microbiome diversity, a multi-cohort study," is observational and cannot prove causation but adds evidence to the emerging field of chrononutrition.
- Digestive Disease Week 2026 will host the presentation on May 4, with Dadigiri — who called herself "not the ice cream police" — recommending earlier-in-the-day treats and structured meal routines as small, consistent habits for better digestive function.
Why it matters: For the millions of Americans eating under chronic stress, the study gives a concrete target: shift calories earlier. Across two large cohorts, people with high allostatic load who ate more than 25% of daily calories after 9 p.m. showed 1.7x to 2.5x higher bowel risk and measurable microbiome disruption — making meal timing a potentially modifiable lever, not just a habit.
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