Is it okay for a child to eat between 9 and 10 p.m.?
Sep 20, 2024
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Zhou Xiaofeng
Introduction
Generally, it is not advisable for children to eat between 9 and 10 p.m. Eating too late may harm their digestive system and affect their overall health. In daily life, parents are advised to establish a healthy eating schedule for their children. If the late meal between 9 and 10 p.m. occurs merely due to a delayed dinner time, the impact on the child is usually not significant.
Generally, it is not advisable for children to eat between 9 and 10 p.m. Eating too late may harm a child's gastrointestinal system and affect their overall health. The detailed explanation is as follows:
It is usually recommended that children avoid eating after 7 p.m. to prevent indigestion. Since a main meal typically takes about four hours to digest, and children usually go to bed relatively early, eating after 9 p.m. means the stomach and intestines cannot fully digest the food within a short time. Over time, this can lead to indigestion and impair normal stomach function. Additionally, eating after 9 p.m. may delay gastric emptying, as the short interval between eating and sleeping prevents the gastrointestinal tract from adequately processing and emptying food, potentially leading to gastric retention. Prolonged occurrence of this situation may easily trigger stomach inflammation and result in chronic gastritis in children.
In daily life, parents are advised to establish healthy eating schedules for their children. If eating between 9 and 10 p.m. occurs only occasionally due to a delayed dinner time, the impact on the child is generally not significant.
