Obesity can cause liver failure, adding to the long list of problems triggered by excessive weight.
Fatty liver disease is one of the vital problems leading to liver damage among obese women. Doctors in Bangalore said that fatty liver disease was increasing among women in the city with about 10% of obese women having possibilities of developing some form of liver disease.
“With obesity on the rise among children, more instances of liver cirrhosis due to fatty liver disease will be reported in the future, especially among women,” said Dr K Ravindranath, surgical gastroenterologist, chairman and managing director, BGS Global Group of Hospitals.
Statistics show that roughly 20% of school going children in India are obese. “The number of obese children is higher in urban India compared to villages. And among the children above 13 years, obesity rates are higher in girls than in boys,” he said.
“Most girls don’t take part in outdoor and physical activities after they reach menarche. Thus after a particular age, 60-70% of the obese population turn out to be women,” said Dr Preethi Galgali, a member of Indian Pediatric Association. “It is not surprising that fatty liver disease is on the rise among women,” she said.
About 12% liver diseases are related to fatty liver disease, said Dr Sadiq Sikora, surgical gastroentrologist,Manipal Hospital. “Lipid abnormality, diabetes and obesity lead to fatty liver diseases and if precaution is not taken on time, this can lead to chronic liver damage,” Ravindranath said.
Besides, 4% of the total population is affected by hepatitis and one third of these patients tend to develop liver failure. Also, a large percentage of the alcoholic population develops liver damages.
“Though there is no proper statistics about liver diseases available in India, of the cases we see, about 40% are suffering from hepatitis B and C, and about 60% are alcohol addicts,” said Dr Ravindranath.
Liver related diseases are not uncommon among children. Around 80% of the children suffering from biliary atrisia need transplant. Liver transplant is also important in cases of autoimmune liver failure and hepatoblastoma (liver cancer among children).
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