What causes fatty liver?

Although being obese may seem to be blessed and wealthy, obesity still brings great harm to the body. Especially for men, carrying an obese body not only makes them tired at work, but also easily causes various diseases. For example, fatty liver may be caused by obesity. In addition, what are the other causes of fatty liver?

1. Obesity-related fatty liver

The degree of fat accumulation in the liver is proportional to body weight. 30% to 50% of obese people have fatty liver, and the rate of fatty liver disease in severely obese people is as high as 61% to 94%. When the weight of obese people is controlled, their fat infiltration will also decrease or disappear.

2. Alcoholic fatty liver

In long-term alcoholics, 75% to 95% of liver biopsies show fatty infiltration. Others have observed that drinking more than 80 to 160 grams of alcohol per day increases the incidence of alcoholic fatty liver by 5 to 25 times.

3. Rapid weight loss fatty liver

Fasting, excessive dieting or other rapid weight loss measures can cause a large increase in fat decomposition in a short period of time, consume glutathione (GSH) in the liver, increase malondialdehyde and lipid peroxides in the liver, damage liver cells, and lead to fatty liver.

4. Malnutrition-induced fatty liver

Malnutrition leading to protein deficiency is an important cause of fatty liver, which is often seen in insufficient intake or digestive disorders, which prevent the synthesis of apolipoproteins, resulting in the accumulation of triglycerides in the liver and the formation of fatty liver.

5. Diabetic fatty liver

About 50% of diabetic patients may develop fatty liver, most of whom are adults. Because 50% to 80% of diabetic patients in adulthood are obese, their plasma insulin levels and plasma fatty acids are increased, and fatty liver is related to both the degree of obesity and excessive intake of fat or sugar.

6. Drug-induced fatty liver

Certain drugs or chemical poisons can cause fatty liver by inhibiting protein synthesis, such as tetracycline, adrenocortical hormone, puromycin, cyclohexamine, ipecacine, as well as arsenic, lead, silver, mercury, etc. Lipid-lowering drugs can also cause fatty liver by interfering with lipoprotein metabolism.

7. Fatty liver of pregnancy

The disease usually occurs between 34 and 40 weeks of gestation of the first child. The condition is severe and the prognosis is poor, with maternal and infant mortality rates reaching 80% and 70% respectively.

8. Fatty liver caused by other diseases

Fatty liver can also occur in infections such as tuberculosis, bacterial pneumonia and septicemia. If patients with viral hepatitis restrict their activities too much and consume a high-sugar, high-calorie diet, fat in liver cells is easy to accumulate. Fatty liver is more likely to occur after receiving corticosteroid treatment. Fatty liver improves rapidly after controlling the infection or removing the cause. There is also so-called extra-gastrointestinal high-nutrition fatty liver, toxic fatty liver, fatty liver caused by genetic diseases, etc.