Liver disease in the UK could increase due to the country's rising level of obesity, it has been claimed.
The warning comes from the British Liver Trust (BLT), which points out that a combination of an increasingly poor diet and greater alcohol consumption is known to add to the risk of a diseased liver.
Obesity can help aid the progress from fatty liver to fibrosis, cirrhosis and cancer, the charity cautions.
Alison Rogers, chief executive of BLT, said: "While much of the recent increase in liver disease has been alcohol related a major contributory factor is the nature and quantity of food we are eating."
She called the illness a "silent killer" because it does not manifest symptoms "until the liver is severely damaged".
The liver serves over 500 functions in the human body, including processing digested food, storing vitamins, controlling the level of fats and glucose in the blood and fighting infections.
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