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In daily life, you may have heard more or less about relatives or friends around you suffering from “fatty liver”. But mention “fatty liver”, and people will instinctively think this is a situation for obese individuals, unrelated to “thin people”. Is this really the case? In fact, many thin individuals also develop fatty liver, and they are not in the minority.
01
Why do “thin people” also get fatty liver?
Fatty liver, the short term for fatty liver disease, normal liver fat accounts for 3%~5%, which includes phospholipids, cholesterol, neutral fats, etc. When fat accumulates too much in liver cells, exceeding 5% of the liver’s wet weight, it can be considered as fatty liver.
“Thin people” often pay less attention to their dietary structure, have irregular eating habits, love high-calorie foods such as oily and sweet foods, sit for long periods with minimal exercise, have more fat content in the body and less muscle, appearing thin but actually overweight. In reality, waist circumference reflects the amount of visceral fat. Some “thin people” may not weigh much, but have a thicker waist circumference, indicating high visceral fat content and they are a high-risk group for fatty liver. In daily life, citizens can assess their own fatty liver risk through simple waist circumference measurements. If a man’s waist circumference is greater than 85 cm, or a woman’s waist circumference is greater than 80 cm, one should be wary of abdominal fat accumulation leading to fatty liver. Some thin individuals have been obese in the past, even though their weight has decreased, the hepatic fat degeneration and related damage have not been well improved.
In very rare cases, “thin people fatty liver” is genetically susceptible, such as PNPLAS-3 gene polymorphisms that can cause fatty liver. This genetically-induced “thin people fatty liver” is not common; in fact, most cases are due to lifestyle issues.
02
“Thin people” with fatty liver may also develop hepatitis
“Thin people with fatty liver” are often more pronounced among young individuals, and in these individuals, metabolic disorders are more severe. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is lower, waist-to-height ratio is higher, diastolic pressure is higher, platelet count, triglycerides, blood urea nitrogen levels are all higher. “Thin people” with fatty liver may also suffer from liver inflammatory damage, namely fatty liver hepatitis. Without timely intervention, it could progress to overweight and obesity, potentially evolving from simple fatty liver to fatty liver hepatitis, progressive liver fibrosis, and even cirrhosis and liver cancer.
03
Will eating less prevent fatty liver?
Many people strictly control their diet to lose weight or treat fatty liver, even resorting to harsh fasting. Their diets are mostly bland, with vegetables as the main component, minimal meat intake, appearing healthy but actually leading to malnutrition due to lack of protein, vitamins, minerals, etc. In fact, when a person is malnourished, the liver cannot synthesize lipoproteins, reducing the “transporters” of fat, leading to fat accumulation in the liver, causing fatty liver. Therefore, diet balance is crucial.
Changing lifestyle is one of the most effective ways to treat “thin people fatty liver”. Patients only need to reduce their weight by 3%~5%, achieve a reduction in waist circumference, and maintain a normal waist-to-height ratio. By reducing waist circumference, liver fat content may decrease to normal levels, and could even completely regress. “Thin people fatty liver” requires more emphasis on exercise, especially focusing on alternating aerobic and anaerobic activities.
Author: Zhang Shu, Ma Yun
Editor: Lv Wenwei
Proofreader: Yuan Rong
Reviewer: Gong Xian
