Merely changing meal times could have a significant effect on the levels of triglycerides in the liver, according to a recent study.

In a prepared statement, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science said many biological processes follow a set timetable, with levels of activity rising and dipping at certain times of the day. A disruption of these fluctuations, known as circadian rhythms, which are driven by internal "body clocks" based on an approximately 24-hour period, can cause imbalances in both animals and humans, leading to such diseases as obesity, metabolic syndrome and fatty liver.

Night-shift workers, for example, have been shown to have higher incidence of these diseases.

Researchers studied the role of rhythm in the accumulation of lipids in the liver in hundreds of mice. They discovered the time at which the accumulation of triglycerides occurs, as well as its levels, are determined by the clocks together with timing of meals.

The details of the mechanism that drives the actual fluctuating behavior are yet to be discovered, researchers said.

"The striking outcome of restricted nighttime feeding - lowering liver triglyceride levels in the very short time period of 10 days in the mice - is of clinical importance. Hyperlipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia are common diseases characterized by abnormally elevated levels of lipids in blood and liver cells, which lead to fatty liver and other metabolic diseases," researcher Dr. Gad Asher said in a statement. "Yet no currently available drugs have been shown to change lipid accumulation as efficiently and drastically as simply adjusting meal time -- not to mention the possible side effects that may be associated with such drugs."

Researchers said time is a crucial element in all biological systems, so these findings are likely to impact biological research in general. They said their research also have important implications for the potential treatment of metabolic diseases.