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Alloveda Liver Update: Obesity: A risk factor for liver disease in young children

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eMediNexus    05 December 2020

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is caused due to excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, triggering inflammation that causes liver damage. This condition affects about 80 million people in the United States, and is the also considered as most common chronic liver condition in kids and teens.

A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, revealed that obesity can lead to liver disease in children, even as young as 8 years old. A long-term study enrolled 635 children and observed that a bigger waist size of a child at 3 years old, increases the likelihood of that child having a marker for liver damage and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (ALT) by the age of 8 years. Among the total recruited children, 23% of children had elevated blood levels of ALT by the age 8. The study revealed that children with a bigger waist size at age 3 and those with larger increases in obesity between ages 3 and 8 had more chances of elevated ALT at age 8. Moreover, about 35% of obese 8-year-olds had increased ALT, in contrast to 20% of children with normal weight.

Thus, the study demonstrated that increased prevalence of childhood obesity, was associated with increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Although, parents are aware that obesity can result in type 2 diabetes and other metabolic conditions in children, there is still less alertness of the fact that obesity can cause severe liver disease, even in young children. Therefore, stringent methods should be applied to early screen, diagnose, prevent and treat this disease, starting in childhood. The appropriate approach for managing fatty liver disease includes investigating ALT levels in at-risk children at an early stage, losing weight, eating fewer processed foods and getting regular exercise.

Source: Obesity Can Lead to Liver Damage by Age 8. Available at:

https://www.webmd.com/children/news/20180404/obesity-can-lead-to-liver-damage-by-age-8-study. Accessed on: 27-11-2020.

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