Obesity Liver Damage Worse Than Alcohol?

Here's yet another reason to think twice about supersizing your fries: cirrhosis.

When you hear the words "cirrhosis of the liver", you probably think of alcohol as the cause. Most of us are aware of the link between obesity and diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke - but we don't realize how much damage excess weight can do to our livers.

Professor Christopher Hawkey, President of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), told the UK's Guardian newspaper that:

[Obesity] is now projected to overtake alcohol as the biggest cause of liver cirrhosis within two decades.

Cirrhosis is an advanced, irreversible, form of liver damage: obesity is already the main culprit responsible for less serious forms of liver disease.

Some statistics from the BSG:

• Liver disease is the fifth most common cause of death in the UK
• The average age of death from liver disease is 59
• The main causes of liver disease are alcohol, viral hepatitis and obesity

The rise in obesity needs to be increasingly tackled on a national level - or our health services are going to be struggling more and more with the need to care for seriously ill, obese, patients.

That's not an excuse, however, for us to give up on our individual efforts! If you've got excess weight to lose, why not try Diet Blog Share for support and inspiration?