There is a huge incline in the incidence of obesity in recent years, due to which obesity and its associated disorders such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pose a serious threat to the general population. Hence, the contribution of visceral adipose tissue to metabolic homeostasis has become a crucial topic, in the view of the obesity epidemic. Visceral adipose tissue plays a vital role in the development of NAFLD as it secretes free fatty acids (FFAs) and hormones, known as adipokines. These FFAs also stimulates intrinsic apoptosis pathway in hepatocytes via c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) which in turn initiates the proapoptotic protein Bim. This protein further leads to activation of Bax and increased apoptosis, termed lipoapoptosis, which is also considered as a characteristic feature in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Evidences suggest that decreased adiponectin levels may cause a proinflammatory milieu, thereby enhancing vulnerability to lipotoxicity, that triggers the progression from simple steatosis to NASH and even advanced hepatic fibrosis. 

Obesity also considered to be an independent risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most commonly encountered liver cancer subtype. Moreover, findings demonstrated that a high body mass index is related to poor outcome in acute liver failure, and obesity has an important role to play in the progression of chronic hepatitis C and B. 

Source: Wree A, Kahraman A, Gerken G, Canbay A. Obesity affects the liver - the link between adipocytes and hepatocytes. Digestion. 2011;83(1-2):124-33.