The main risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is being overweight or obese. But this disease can develop even at normal weight, so all people must undergo a medical examination once a year and undergo ultrasound of the abdominal cavity. In the specialist clinic (St. Petersburg) there is a gastroenterologist, hepatologist and “Hepatologist | Sofya Bakaeva.”
“Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is accompanied by fat accumulation, inflammation, and fibrosis (replacement of functional liver tissue with connective tissue) in the liver. It is most often seen in obese or overweight people. But NAFLD can also occur in a thin person with a “skinny fat” figure, which can be translated as “skinny fat man”. They have a low percentage of muscle mass and a high percentage of subcutaneous fat and visceral fat, which often surrounds the internal organs. It is also common in people with abdominal obesity, that is, people with excess fat in the abdominal area. They are also more likely to have heart disease, diabetes, and cholesterol disorders; all of which increase the risk of NAFLD. Therefore, regardless of your weight, once a year you need to undergo a medical examination with ultrasound of the abdominal cavity,” Bakaeva told socialbites.ca.
As the hepatologist explains, abdominal obesity can be recognized by waist circumference: a waist greater than 88 cm in women and greater than 94 cm in men is associated with an increased risk of NAFLD and other consequences of abdominal obesity. For people of Asian descent, the limits are stricter: 80 cm for women, 90 cm for men.
“The BMI indicator is used to determine excess or underweight. It is obtained by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters. This is not ideal: for example, it is not suitable for amputees or people with very large muscle mass. In the latter case, BMI may be higher than normal even if there is no obesity,” the doctor emphasized.
The normal BMI range is between 18.5 and 24.9. If the indicator is from 25 to 29.9, this may indicate overweight, and above 30 – obesity. But for people of Asian descent, a BMI over 23 could be a sign of overweight, Bakaeva noted.
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