UTHealth Houston: late sleep and eating in adults with obesity tied to metabolic syndrome traits

Researchers at UTHealth Houston reported a link between sleep timing, meal timing, gut health and metabolic disease in adults with obesity, according to news-medical.net news-medical.netnews-medical.netnews-medical.netOpen source ↗. The study was published in iScience in 2026 and led by Faraz Bishehsari, MD, PhD, director of the Gastroenterology Research Center at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. Co-authors come from Rush University Medical Center, Northwestern University and the University of Nebraska.

The team analyzed two circadian behaviors: chronotype, meaning a natural preference for waking early or staying up late, and the timing of food intake. Participants with a later chronotype ("night owls") had more metabolic syndrome risk factors than those with an early chronotype. The highest metabolic risk was seen in people who combined a late chronotype with late-night eating.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that raise the risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. The authors suggest that a mismatch between the internal clock and daily behavior may contribute to this risk through changes in the gut microbiome and the intestinal barrier.

Metabolic-Inflammatory Score and leaky gut

To assess how the body responds to immune and metabolic changes, the researchers created a "Metabolic-Inflammatory Score". Participants with higher metabolic risk showed signs of "leaky gut", in which substances normally kept inside the intestine enter the bloodstream. According to the researchers, such substances can trigger inflammation and affect other parts of the body. news-medical.netnews-medical.netnews-medical.netOpen source ↗

Microbiome as a possible link

The team also examined whether improving the gut microbiome could strengthen the intestinal barrier. Participants whose gut barrier function improved after a microbiome-targeted intervention showed an increase in beneficial bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids. The authors suggest that the microbiome may be a modifiable pathway connecting circadian behaviors and metabolic health.

Bishehsari noted that meal timing and other circadian behaviors are potentially modifiable. In his view, understanding these relationships could open opportunities for preventing or managing metabolic disease through lifestyle changes and interventions targeting the gut microbiome. He said future research will need to determine whether therapies aimed at circadian alignment or at strengthening the gut microbiome can reduce inflammation and lower the risk of metabolic disease.

The paper is titled "Circadian misalignment associates with inflammation, gut barrier, and microbiome composition in humans with obesity" (Khoshaba E. et al., DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117892). news-medical.netnews-medical.netnews-medical.netOpen source ↗