What is fatty liver?

Written by Wu Hai Wu
Gastroenterology
Updated on January 03, 2025
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Fatty liver is a pathological condition caused by excessive accumulation of fat in liver cells due to various reasons, which impairs the liver's normal functions. This is a relatively common liver pathology. Patients may experience symptoms like fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and discomfort in the upper right abdomen, primarily treated in the departments of gastroenterology and hepatology. The population at higher risk includes patients with diabetes, alcohol abuse, obesity, and those who have undergone excessive weight loss. Fatty liver can also occur during pregnancy. Patients may experience impaired liver function, and in severe cases, they may develop fatty liver hepatitis or fatty liver cirrhosis.

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How to improve diet for fatty liver

Patients with fatty liver should pay attention to a reasonable diet, ensuring three meals are balanced, both coarse and refined, eating more vegetables and fruits as well as whole grains, and eating less greasy and spicy foods, especially avoiding the intake of animal fats, and strictly abstaining from smoking and drinking. While adjusting the diet, it is important to engage in appropriate physical activities, such as jogging, playing table tennis, and practicing Tai Chi, to enhance the consumption of fat in the body. Be cautious when using medication to avoid liver-toxic drugs, maintain a positive attitude, and try not to get angry. (Medication should be used under the guidance of a doctor.)

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What department should I visit for fatty liver?

Fatty liver is a disease that indicates a metabolic disorder and is considered a type of digestive system disease, as well as a liver disease. In top-tier hospitals, there is generally a hepatology department where one can seek treatment at their outpatient clinic. In slightly less equipped county-level secondary hospitals or third-tier hospitals, which do not have a hepatology outpatient clinic, one can visit the gastroenterology outpatient clinic. Additionally, basic health clinics, which do not have a gastroenterology outpatient clinic, require visiting a general internal medicine outpatient clinic.

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Written by Wu Peng
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Symptoms of fatty liver pain

Patients with severe fatty liver, if the condition is serious and there is excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, the liver capsule may be overly distended. This stretching of the liver ligaments can cause pain in the liver area. At this time, patients may feel intense pain or tenderness in the upper right abdomen, and sometimes rebound pain may also occur. When pain in the liver area appears in patients with fatty liver, it indicates that the condition has become very severe and requires active treatment. If the condition progresses further, it can lead to fatty liver, hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and even severe hepatitis or liver failure, which can greatly affect the patient's quality of life and life expectancy.

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Do fatty livers need to be treated?

Fatty liver refers to the excessive accumulation of fat in liver cells. For mild fatty liver, clinical symptoms are not obvious, and there are not many abnormal indicators during physical examinations. In such cases, one can adjust the diet and increase exercise appropriately to promote the consumption of fat in the body. If there is a significant liver function abnormality, increased transaminases, and symptoms of nausea and vomiting, one can choose to use medications that protect the liver, reduce lipids, and provide antioxidants for treatment. At the same time, it is important to maintain a positive mindset and regularly visit the hospital for follow-up checks. (The use of medications should be under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Is hyperlipidemia fatty liver disease?

Hyperlipidemia and fatty liver are actually two different concepts. Hyperlipidemia is essentially dyslipidemia, which refers to abnormal quality and quantity of lipids in the plasma. The tests for blood lipids include total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. With our medical history, physical signs, and laboratory tests, diagnosing hyperlipidemia is not difficult. The current diagnostic criteria are mainly based on the 2017 Chinese guidelines for the prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia in adults, where low-density lipoprotein greater than 4.14 mmol/L suggests elevated low-density lipoprotein. Fatty liver, on the other hand, refers to excessive fat accumulation within liver cells due to various reasons, and is a common pathological change in the liver, rather than an independent disease. Patients with hyperlipidemia are prone to fatty liver.