CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kids are increasingly being diagnosed with a disease that used to just be common in older men, and now doctors say its just as common as asthma.
Official say fatty liver disease is on the rise right here in the southeast.
It used to be pretty rare for children to be diagnosed with fatty liver disease. It was normally only seen in older adults, mostly men who drank too much alcohol. But according to a new analysis from the Washington Post, between 2017 and 2021, diagnoses in children under seventeen of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease more than doubled.
The results of fatty liver disease can be catastrophic and in some cases, it requires an organ transplant. In fact, there has been a 25% increase in liver transplants in kids between the ages of 11 and 17 in the past decade.
According to the Post, the problem is the worst in the Southeast where rates of pediatric obesity are the highest.
Research is still underway to find out what is going on, but obesity appears to be part of the problem, but exercise can help.
A recent study found that just 150 minutes a week of moderate to intense exercise significantly reduced fat in the liver.
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