Childhood obesity could detonate fatty liver

"Fat babies are prettier", that is the philosophy of the people, but nowadays Mexico occupies the first place in the world in childhood obesity . Data from the National Agreement for Food Health, mention that from 1980 to date, this epidemic It records a high rate of growth in this segment of the population, especially among the school population - preschool and primary school, between 5 and 11 years -, as well as between teenagers .

In recent years there have been campaigns to raise awareness among the population of diseases that are caused by obesity, such as cardiovascular diseases , diabetes and some types of cancer, but little is said about the damages that obesity represents for the liver , that body so noble and so forgotten.

Obesity can lead to fatty liver disease, a condition that develops slowly and often presents no pain. If the disease is treated properly, it disappears without leaving any injuries, but if it is not treated in time, other diseases such as cirrhosis may be present.

It is very likely that children who are now obese in the not too distant future suffer from fatty liver and consequently cirrhosis. When cirrhosis is not treated on time or with proper care, it can be complicated and develop a hepatic encephalopathy , this occurs when the function of the hepatocytes is altered; they do not detoxify blood and the harmful substances reach the brain, being able to cause from minor alterations of behavior to the state of coma.

This complication of cirrhosis does not manifest itself suddenly; begins with small losses of mental functions such as work skills and ability to drive, changes in sleep, fatigue, forgetfulness, lack of concentration Y aggressiveness It can even cause a special type of hand tremor called asterixis.

Merz Pharma has found that the combination of two substances (L-ornithine and L-aspartate) is very useful to support the debugging work that the liver should perform in patients with hepatic encephalopathy.

In adults the prevalence of obesity and overweight It has tripled, it was found that 39.5% of men and women are overweight and 31.7% are obese. That is, approximately 70% of the adult population have an inadequate body mass So also in this sector of the population will increase the prevalence of fatty liver disease and with it their complications .

The rates of obesity in Mexico have increased rapidly, according to data presented recently by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 3 out of 10 Mexicans suffer from obesity, while in children it is 1 in every 3.

The Ministry of Health has implemented programs of healthy food Y exercise to try to reverse the advance of obesity in children and with this avoid that in the future they present diseases such as fatty liver, cirrhosis and its complications such as hepatic encephalopathy.

Source: Merz Pharma


Video Medicine: WHY Sugar is as Bad as Alcohol (Fructose, The Liver Toxin) (March 2024).