Being overweight and drinking alcohol dramatically increases the risk of developing fatty liver disease, according to a study presented at the International Liver Congress.
A study of over 100,000 British women found that being overweight and drinking alcohol regularly increased the chances of suffering and dying of the disease threefold.
Dr Daniele Prati, of the European Association for the Study of the Liver Committee, said: ‘It's well known that alcohol and a person's weight are major causes of chronic liver disease,but there has been a need for a large population study to compare these factors' influences on each other.
Cut back on wine and sweet treats: Being overweight and drinking alcohol significantly increases risk of deadly liver disease
‘Interestingly, the research found the combination of a woman's drinking habits and weight has an important effect on liver health and life expectancy.’
The study, conducted by Dr Paul Trembling and Professor William Rosenberg at the UCL Institute of Liver and Digestive Health, analysed 107,000 women.
All participants were classed as having a low or high BMI and a low or high alcohol intake ranging zero and 15 units a week.
One unit is about one 25ml single measure of whisky or half a standard glass of wine.
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BMI helps gauge whether a person is under or overweight. People who have a BMI of 25 or over are classed as overweight.
The study found that compared to a thin woman who did not drink, drinkers were at 1.8 times the risk of developing the disease.
Overindulging in sweet treats and alcohol is fuelling rise in liver disease
Those who did not drink but were overweight had 1.7 times the risk of the disease.
But those who did both were at three times at risk of fatty liver disease.
Dr Prati explained: ‘These findings will have a significant impact on how we can help millions of people across the world at risk of developing liver disease.
Liver disease is now the fifth biggest killer in the UK with the number of people dying from it rising by 20 per cent over the past decade.
However, there are often no warning signs until it is far advanced, so many people could have the potentially fatal condition without even realising it.
Women are at particular risk as they are twice as sensitive as men to alcohol related liver damage and developing a more severe form of the disease.The UK government advises not to regularly drink more than the daily unit guidelines of 3 to 4 units of alcohol for men and 2 to3 units of alcohol for women, where 'regularly' means drinking every day or most days of the week.