What causes fatty liver disease?

Overweight people are more prone to develop a fatty liver. This happens when the liver takes in more fat than it can process. Having a fatty liver, in turn, is linked with insulin resistance, which can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. It's also linked with high blood cholesterol, which can raise your risk of heart disease. The fatty liver associated with being overweight is called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), to distinguish it from the fatty liver that can result from excess alcohol consumption.

Fatty liver disease (FLD) is caused by a high alcohol intake over a sustained period of time. FLD is most likely to develop when daily consumption of between three and eight servings of alcohol per day occurs for more than 10 years. Chances of developing FLD are increased when coupled with a lack of alcohol-eliminating enzymes, poor nutrition, and iron build-up in the liver. FLD can be halted or reversed if alcohol intake ceases completely.