subject: Obesity And Fatty Liver Disease: Now The Number One Liver Threat [print this page] When you ask people what they believe is the biggest liver problem today, they'll generally tell you it's cirrhosis. For a long time, that would have been correct. But not anymore.
The new number one enemy of liver health is obesity, which is the primary cause of a disorder called fatty liver disease.
Public health officials in both the United States and Canada generally agree that obesity, due to poor nutrition and lack of exercise, damages more livers than cirrhosis, which is often brought on by alcohol abuse. Simply put, there are a lot more heavy people than there are heavy drinkers. Therefore, more people are likely to get fatty liver disease than cirrhosis.
Let's take a few seconds to describe how your liver functions. It will help you understand why obesity and fatty liver disease compromise liver health.
The liver usually metabolizes fat from the food we eat. But when we eat too much or don't exercise enough, large droplets of fat start to accumulate in the liver. As these fat droplets build up, the liver starts to produce more enzymes, which can cause inflammation of liver tissue. The inflammation can cause scarring and cirrhosis, in which the liver becomes hardened and liver function decreases.
Therefore, fatty liver disease is exactly what the name implies. Your body produces more fat than it needs, and some of the excess fat starts accumulating in your liver.
Recent public health studies have estimated that one in five Americans probably has some degree of fatty liver disease (which also goes by the name of fatty liver syndrome). According to the Canadian Liver Foundation, fatty liver disease is now the fastest growing and most common liver condition in Canada.
Fatty liver disease is also one of the "silent killers" because it doesn't present symptoms until a lot of liver damage has already occurred. Symptoms eventually will appear though, including:
* abdominal swelling
* fever
* yellowing of the skin, or jaundice
* itichiness
* pain on the right side of the abdomin
When these symptoms begin to appear, it's best to see a doctor as soon as you can. He or she can run some liver function tests. If the tests show that your liver has grown (known as an enlarged liver) and your liver enzymes have become elevated, then you probably have fatty liver disease.
Even when symptoms aren't present, it may be a good idea to run liver function tests if you're overweight, eat a lot, and don't exercise much.
Treatment options for fatty liver disease depend on the cause. Special treatment is not always necessary if fatty liver disease is discovered in the early stages. Simple lifestyle changes can help return your liver to a healthy state. Since obesity is the main cause of fatty liver disease, lowering your weight can help return your liver to a healthy state. Liver function will also improve if you cut back or completely eliminate your alcohol intake. Controlling blood sugar is important for patients with diabetes.
