This condition is called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This condition can develop in people who are overweight or have diabetes. It may also be caused by rapid weight loss and unhealthy eating habits.
Rapid weight loss/malnutrition has been reported to induce hepatic inflammation and exacerbate steatohepatitis with progression to liver failure within a relatively short timeframe.
Significant weight loss can improve NAFLD and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Diet and exercise that result in a sustained body weight reduction of 7–10% can improve liver fat content, NASH, and fibrosis.
When the liver does not process and break down fats as it normally should, too much fat will accumulate. People tend to develop fatty liver if they have certain other conditions, such as obesity, diabetes or high triglycerides. Alcohol abuse, rapid weight loss and malnutrition may also lead to fatty liver.
Rapid weight loss can have other unhealthy side effects too. In addition to losing muscle mass, water, and bone density, it can introduce health issues, including gallstones, gout, fatigue, constipation, diarrhea, and nausea, according to MedlinePlus.
Your blood pressure can drop if you also lose weight too quickly, which can be dangerous. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance can also occur. Other side effects of quick weight loss include dizziness, constipation, hair loss, headaches, irritability, fatigue, and muscle loss.
Rapid weight loss diet is a type of diet in which you lose more than 2 pounds (1 kilogram, kg) a week over several weeks.
Wilson disease is often confused with other liver diseases such as alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver disease due to obesity, or acute liver failure due to hepatitis viruses or drugs/toxins.
According to the American Liver Foundation, there are no medical treatments – yet – for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. So that means that eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly are the best ways to both prevent liver damage from starting or reverse liver disease once it's in the early stages.
If you have fatty liver disease, the damage may be reversed if you abstain from alcohol for a period of time (this could be months or years).
Fatty liver disease rarely causes any symptoms, but it's an important warning sign that you're drinking at a harmful level. Fatty liver disease is reversible. If you stop drinking alcohol for some time (months or years), your liver should return to normal.
Fibrosis progresses at a speed of 0.07 stages/year in NAFL and 0.14 stages/year in NASH, so NAFL progresses by 1 stage every 14 years and NASH by 1 stage every 7 years (4).
Dr. Anderson speculated that liver enzyme levels might go up when people start losing weight because fat moves out of the liver so fast that “it drags some enzymes with it.”
It may be that states of reduced caloric intake such as those achieved during the weight loss phase of our intervention or after bariatric surgery are associated with an increase in intrahepatic fat concentrations, which in turn may drive increases in ALT levels and potentially NAFLD severity.
The first stage is referred to as simple fatty liver or steatosis; This occurs when the liver cells start to build-up fat, although there is no inflammation or scarring at this stage. There are often no symptoms in this early stage, so many people are unaware they have a fatty liver.
Both NAFLD and alcoholic fatty liver disease are usually silent diseases with few or no symptoms. If you do have symptoms, you may feel tired or have discomfort in the upper right side of your abdomen.
Non-alcohol related fatty liver disease seems to be linked to a group of related metabolic disorders involving high BMI, high blood lipid levels, high blood pressure and diabetes. These factors seem to influence each other and lead to collective changes in how your body metabolizes nutrients and stores fats.
The most effective fatty liver treatment involves a change in lifestyle. Weight loss is helpful. “But the weight loss has to be pretty significant,” says Loomba. You have to lose about 7% of your body weight to resolve NASH.
Who is more likely to develop NAFLD? NAFLD is more common in people who have certain diseases and conditions, including obesity, and conditions that may be related to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes. Studies suggest that one-third to two-thirds of people with type 2 diabetes have NAFLD.
Unintentional weight loss has many different causes. It might be caused by a stressful event like a divorce, losing a job, or the death of a loved one. It can also be caused by malnutrition, a health condition or a combination of things.
Losing around 1.5 to 2.5 kilos of body weight in a month is considered healthy. Losing more than this means you are putting pressure on your bodily functions and internal organs, kidneys especially.