Liver Fat More Important Than Apple Or Pear Shape In Heart Woes

“For years, pear-shaped people who carry weight in the thighs and backside have been told they are at lower risk for high blood pressure and heart disease than apple-shaped people who carry fat in the abdomen. But new findings from nutrition researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggest body-shape comparisons don't completely explain risk. In two studies, they report excess liver fat appears to be the real key to insulin resistance, cholesterol abnormalities and other problems that contribute to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Having too much fat stored in the liver is known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. ‘Since obesity is so much more common now, both in adults and in children, we are seeing a corresponding increase in the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,’ says senior investigator Samuel Klein, M.D., the Danforth Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Science. ‘That can lead to serious liver disorders such as cirrhosis in extreme cases, but more often it tends to have metabolic consequences.’ The findings indicate that children and adults with fatty liver disease should be targeted for intensive interventions, according to Klein. Those who are obese but don't have fatty liver disease still should be encouraged to lose weight, but those with evidence of fatty liver are at particularly high risk for heart disease and diabetes. They need to be treated aggressively with therapies to help them lose weight because weight loss can make a big difference. ‘Fatty liver disease is completely reversible,’ he says. ‘If you lose weight, you quickly eliminate fat in your liver. As little as two days of calorie restriction can improve the situation dramatically, and as fat in the liver is reduced, insulin sensitivity and metabolic problems improve.’”

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131976.php