America is experiencing an obesity epidemic. We can see it all around us, as the average waist circumference expands. But what we don't see on the outside can be even more dangerous. Excessive sugar consumption can lead to weight gain externally and internally. A recent report at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases annual meeting stated that a condition known as fatty liver is on the rise.
The report presented evidence from an animal study that found mice who consumed diets high in fructose, a specific type of sugar, gained more weight but also suffered from fatty liver. Mice who were not given the high sugar diet did not gain excess weight or experience fatty liver.
This is one of the first studies to show that high sugar intake effects organ health as much as weight. Fatty liver can lead to more serious liver conditions including cancer, if untreated. And because the liver is so important for many other processes in the body, fatty liver can preceed many other disorders.
Previously fatty liver was thought to be due to only high fat intake and obesity, genetic causes, or alcoholism. Now high sugar intake can be added to that list of causes.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on November 7, 2006 03:41 PM
