Fatty liver disease is the ticking time bomb you’ve never heard of – here’s what you can do about it

It has been called “the most common disease you’ve never heard of”, affecting one in four people – more than sufferers of diabetes and arthritis combined. The trouble is, many people who have it do not have any symptoms, and discover the problem only when it is at an advanced stage. It is fatty liver disease, and the number of people afflicted is rising.

Cirrhosis of the liver – in which scar tissue replaces the liver’s healthy cells, diminishing its ability to function – is common in alcoholics, and usually starts out as fatty liver disease, a build-up of fat in the organ. What few people realise is that even non-drinkers can develop fatty livers, or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Health benefits of abstinence from alcohol: two regular quitters talk about their dry spells and share tips on giving up

Vanessa Hebditch, director of policy and communications at the British Liver Trust, says the biggest indicator for having NAFLD is being overweight.

“With almost one third of adults overweight, the British Liver Trust estimates it will have overtaken alcohol as the leading cause of liver disease in the United Kingdom by 2020. It has already happened in the US.”

She calls the disease a “time bomb”, for good reason. “In just 50 years, a little more than a generation, figures are expected to have risen fourfold. The problem is there are often no real symptoms and 75 per cent of conditions are diagnosed in hospital settings when it is at an advanced stage.”

Dr Paul Ng, a Hong Kong-based specialist in gastroenterology and hepatology, sees a link between the disease’s incidence and affluence. In Hong Kong, 27 per cent of the population – a number that rises year on year – is estimated to have this disease, among whom four per cent have advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. In poorer rural China, he says, “it’s virtually unknown”.