As many as one in three people may be unknowingly developing a hidden and potentially deadly disease, according to health experts.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a catch-all term that is used for a number of conditions triggered by a buildup of fat in your liver. NAFLD itself is not caused by alcohol, but drinking can make it worse.
When the illness combines with other liver ailments - such as hepatitis or consuming more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol per week - liver disease is the biggest killer of adults in their 30s and 40s, reports the Mirror. The condition was reported among the causes of death of pop star George Michael, who passed away aged just 53 in 2016.
However, British Liver Trust chief executive officer Pamela Healy suggests that many do not realise how weight can be a risk factor.
“The liver is just as vital an organ as the heart but people often fail to appreciate the importance of keeping it healthy. There are also lots of myths surrounding it", she said.
"For example, many people believe you need to be an alcoholic to develop liver disease, whereas one in five of us are drinking at a level that puts our liver at risk. Many also fail to realise that being overweight is a major risk factor."
The liver is the only organ in the human body that can regenerate, making it highly resilient. It also means that liver disease is mostly preventable. But carrying extra weight is a red flag when it comes to a huge number of health conditions, including live disease.
This is because a healthy liver should contain little or no fat at all. However, a poor diet and extra weight can increase the fat around the organ and in turn increase risk. Up to one in three people in the UK are now in the early stages of NAFLD, meaning they already have small amounts of fat in their liver.
The presence of fat around the organ may not be causing issues yet, but as levels increase, there is a greater risk of high blood pressure, kidney issues and diabetes.
Initially there may be no symptoms, but if left unchecked, the fat built up can result in the development of a more serious condition called non-alcohol steatohepatitis, or NASH, where the liver becomes inflamed.
As time passes, this inflammation scars both blood vessels and the liver while sufferers often remain unaware of any issues.
What are the symptoms?
According to the NHS, symptoms can include:
- a dull or aching pain in the top right of the tummy (over the lower right side of the ribs),
- extreme tiredness
- unexplained weight loss
- weakness
Issues often become more clear as time goes on once cirrhosis sets in. This follows years of inflammation causing the living to become lumpy and reduce in size.
At this stage symptoms may include:
- yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes
- itchy skin
- swelling in the legs, ankles, feet or tummy
In most cases the damage is irreversible, increasing the chances of liver failure and liver cancer dramatically.
Professor Jonathan Fallowfield, head of liver research at the University of Edinburgh, says: "The five per cent who get NASH is expected to increase to seven per cent by 2030.
"By and large most people don’t know they have a fatty liver. These are often people who are thin on the outside and fat on the inside. They tend to carry visceral fat around the abdomen and rarely have any symptoms other than fatigue."
The expert added that the best treatment for NAFLD is to simply lose weight.
“You only have to lose about 10 per cent of your body weight to reverse it and possibly even reverse liver fibrosis too, boosting your quality of life,” he explained.
