 Hi, I am Dr. Aditya Shah, consultant gastroenterologist from Manipal Hospital, Whitefield. What is fatty liver? Fatty liver is a condition in which there is excessive accumulation of fat in the liver. How dangerous is fatty liver disease? Fatty liver disease is dangerous if it is not managed properly. It can lead to permanent scarring of the liver which can lead to liver failure. At times it can also lead to liver cancer. What are the causes of fatty liver? The common causes of fatty liver are obesity, high cholesterol levels and diabetes. It is also seen in patients who have normal body weight. So it doesn't mean that patients with normal body weight do not have fatty liver. There have been instances in which patients usually who are thin, lean and normal body mass usually also have a fatty liver. Does it affect children? Fatty liver was considered a rare entity amongst children. Currently due to the increasing obesity amongst the children, fatty liver has also been started to be seen in children. How is it diagnosed? The preliminary test to diagnose a fatty liver disease is an ultrasound abdomen. The liver function tests are done in order to confirm if there is any ongoing inflammation. Techniques like fibroscan of the liver are usually used in order to confirm the extent of progression of the disease. How does it progress? The non-alcoholic fatty liver disease usually progresses into non-alcoholic steatohepatitis which is the inflammation of the liver cells. This is a reversible condition. At times the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis further progresses into condition of cirrhosis which is fibrosis of the liver and it is a irreversible condition. In such condition the patient may at times also lead to liver transplantation. Patients get scared the moment they see a report which says fatty liver disease. There is nothing to be scared of. Patients control your lifestyle and things will start getting better. Myths and facts of fatty liver disease. Patients usually get scared the moment they see the report suggestive of fatty liver disease. There is nothing to be scared of. Just change your lifestyle and treat the cause, things will turn out to be better. How dangerous is fatty liver disease? Fatty liver disease is dangerous if it is not managed properly. Patients may land up in liver failure which is due to the continuous irritation of the liver cells caused by the accumulated fat. It can lead to scarring of the liver which may in turn lead to cirrhosis and may in turn require liver transplantation. Does it affect children? Fatty liver was considered a rare entity amongst the children. Usually due to the prevalence of obesity amongst the children there is an increased incidence of fatty liver amongst children. What are the symptoms of fatty liver disease? In the early stages patients with fatty liver disease usually do not show any symptoms. The patients usually start showing symptoms once the disease has progressed to the stage of inflammation and scarring of the liver. Fatty liver disease patients usually show symptoms of patients suffering from cirrhosis of liver.