What Causes Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?

A healthy liver contains a limited amount of fat. When fat accumulates in the liver to the tune of over five percent of its weight, it is a fatty liver. A fatty liver can induce an inflammatory response, which causes liver tissue damage. The body repairs this damage with scar tissue, which can progress to cirrhosis and cause the liver to fail. Symptoms of fatty liver disease typically do not manifest until late-stage liver scarring. Most cases are discovered with a routine blood test or when the liver appears abnormal on imaging tests conducted for other reasons. To confirm the diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, further blood tests, more imaging tests, and a liver biopsy may be performed. Treatment focuses on preventing further liver damage and failure.

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Obesity

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in an individual can be caused by their obesity. Only ten to fifteen percent of individuals who have a healthy range body mass index have this disease. whereas seventy percent of individuals who have a body mass index considered obese have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Excess fat is deemed to be the most prevalent proven cause for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in obese individuals. Individuals who are obese consume large amounts of fat, have a body that produces an excess amount of fat, or a body that cannot metabolize fats very efficiently. When an individual consumes more fat than their body requires and can metabolize, the excess fats are put into liver cells for storage. More fat tissue in the liver due to obesity makes an individual more likely to have an adverse immune reaction to the extra fat, which can cause liver damage. Any mechanism that puts more fat in the body than what is needed can cause obesity and fat deposition in liver cells, resulting in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

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