Myth: Only people who drink alcohol get fatty liver

Not true. The most common form of fatty liver is not caused by alcohol. It is linked with weight around the waist, blood sugar and diet, and it affects roughly one in three Indian adults, including many who never drink and some who are not overweight.

Choose Detailed for the fuller picture, or Scientific for mechanisms and study data.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, increasingly called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, is now one of the most common liver conditions worldwide.

Who is affected

A meta-analysis of Indian studies estimated that 38.6 per cent of adults and over a third of children studied had fatty liver. People with diabetes or obesity are affected most often, but South Asians can develop it at lower body weights, particularly when fat is stored around the waist.

Why it matters

For most people fatty liver stays stable, but in some it leads to inflammation and scarring. It is also a marker of higher risk of diabetes and heart disease.

What to do

If you have diabetes, a large waist or raised liver enzymes, ask your doctor whether you should be checked. Lifestyle change is highly effective.

Shalimar et al. (2022) pooled 62 datasets from 50 Indian studies: adult prevalence 38.6 per cent (95% CI 32 to 45.5), children 35.4 per cent. Lean NAFLD is relatively common in Asian populations, reflecting greater visceral adiposity and insulin resistance at lower BMI.