Reducing the burden of obesity-related liver disease in children

Health Europa – Staff Writer

Childhood obesity is a rapidly growing public health crisis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 41 million children under the age of five were overweight or obese in 2016, a figure which is expected to rise to 70 million by 2025 if current trends continue. This worrying epidemic is contributing in no small part to the high burden of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and obesity-related liver disease (or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), which is now the most common cause of chronic liver disease among children and adolescents in Western countries. (more)