Final answer:
Fatty liver is the excessive accumulation of fats in the liver. It can result from heightened fatty acid mobilization or metabolic issues preventing lipid clearance. Prevention and treatment often involve lifestyle changes like diet and exercise.
Step-by-step explanation:
Fatty Liver: Occurrence, Causes, and Prevention
Fatty liver refers to the abnormal accumulation of fats in the liver, often leading to a lipid content increase to about 25% to 30%, from a normal level of around 5%. This condition disrupts the liver's normal activities, potentially leading to jaundice, and can progress to conditions like cirrhosis, with the formation of fibrous tissue in the liver that replaces dead cells.
There are two main types of fatty liver conditions:
- Physiological fatty livers occur when there's an increased mobilization of fatty acids to the liver beyond what it can metabolize, often due to issues like starvation, diabetes, or hormonal imbalances inciting lipolysis.
- Pathological fatty livers occur even when fatty acid delivery to the liver is normal, but the liver is unable to produce lipoproteins required for lipid clearance, which can stem from conditions like alcoholism, genetic metabolic blocks, or liver infections.
This condition can also be exacerbated by lifestyle factors such as insufficient exercise and high-calorie diets, leading to obesity. One of the best ways to prevent and treat fatty liver is through lifestyle changes, namely diet and exercise adjustments.