Overweight or obese children in a cohort study were more likely to have adult nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and elevated levels of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase than were healthy weight children of both sexes, but this association can be mitigated by weight loss in adulthood.
“These findings underscore the importance of both early prevention and lifelong treatment of overweight and obesity to reduce the risk of adverse liver outcome in adulthood,” Yinkun Yan, PhD, an epidemiologist at the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, and associates wrote (Pediatrics. 2017;139[4]:e20162738).
©SolStock/iStock
The adiposity of the children was determined by caliper measurements and body mass index. ALT elevation was diagnosed via blood tests and NAFLD from ultrasonography. ALT is considered to be the most specific marker of liver damage, and NAFLD is one of the most common causes of liver disease worldwide.
Children who were overweight or obese were more likely to grow up to have elevated ALT levels (40% vs. 30% in men and 23% vs. 12% in women) or NAFLD (62% vs. 39% in men and 39% vs. 15% in women) than were healthy weight children. Obesity in adulthood was a higher risk whether a participant was obese as a child or not, but the researchers noted that risks could be mitigated by acquiring normal weight in adulthood.