Overview
- The findings, reported Thursday across multiple outlets, are slated for presentation at Digestive Disease Week in early May and remain unreviewed by journals.
- In NHANES data from more than 11,000 people, those with high allostatic load — a stress score built from BMI, cholesterol, and blood pressure — who ate over 25% of daily calories after 9 p.m. were 1.7 times more likely to report constipation or diarrhea.
- A separate analysis of more than 4,000 American Gut Project participants found a high‑stress, late‑eating profile tied to 2.5 times higher odds of bowel complaints and to lower gut microbiome diversity.
- Researchers cautioned that the results are observational and that the American Gut analysis used proxies for chronic stress and different diet measures, which limits any claims about cause and effect.
- Lead author Harika Dadigiri said the combination appears to drive risk and recommended regular meal times and stress management as practical, low‑risk steps while prospective studies test the link.