Obesity damages liver more than alcohol.

Cut the flab: obesity damages liver more than alcohol
November 2 2009 | Times of India Bangalore

London: Heres another reason why you should shed the flab excess weight can damage your liver more than alcohol , a leading doctor in UK has warned.
According to Christopher Hawkey, president of the British Society of Gastroenterology , obesity will overtake alcohol as the main cause of liver cirrhosis in the not too distant future . Obesity is the biggest health problem we face this century. It is almost certainly going to reverse the rise in life expectancy, so we start living shorter lives than before.
It will increase the risks of a number of cancers; hip and knee surgery requirement is going to be vast; and it is now projected to overtake alcohol as the biggest cause of liver cirrhosis within two decades, he said.
A poll of 1,959 people released on Sunday has found that while the majority understood that obesity could cause diabetes, high blood pressure and infertility, few understood its link to certain cancers or liver problems. 

 
New figures show a huge spike in the number of people under the age of 65 dying of liver disease while deaths linked to other problems, such as diabetes, cancers and stroke, have fallen for that age group.
The average age of death from liver disease is 59 compared to between 82 and 84 for heart disease and strokes. PTI