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Nettavisen: increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension. At worst, inflammation of the liver and cancer. Most people have no symptoms.
Despite a somewhat intimidating name, few people have heard of "foie gras". And there is little information online about the disease.
At the same time, we are seeing an increasing prevalence of fatty liver in the United States and Europe. Here too, the trend is on the rise and the health survey in Nord-Trøndelag (HUNT3) shows that one in three Norwegians suffers from what is known as "fatty liver disease without alcohol", writes Gemini.
– What we know for sure is that the incidence of hepatic steatosis is increasing and is closely linked to the epidemic of proliferation, said consultant and researcher Mette Vesterhus at Nettavisen.
She is a specialist in digestive disorders at the Haraldsplass Diakonale Hospital.
Most people have no symptoms
First and foremost: what is foie gras?
There are two different fatty liver diseases: fatty liver caused by alcohol abuse and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a type we refer to in this article.
Fatty liver is a disease, as the name suggests, where fat accumulates in the liver. Most cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are due to obesity or type 2 diabetes.
– We call it fatty liver when there is more than five percent fat in the liver. This is usually tested by ultrasound, then we see that the liver is lighter than normal. You can also test for liver steatosis by taking a blood test, says Vesterhus, who heads the Norwegian Gastroenterological Association.
Usually, you will not experience the symptoms of fatty liver.
– Most people with fatty liver live well with it, but this indicates an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension.
– Fatty liver is associated with fat elsewhere on the body and is part of what we call the "metabolic syndrome", as well as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, continues Vesterhus:
– It all goes together, but it is usually a heart disease or stroke, patients with fatty liver die. However, fatty liver can be a warning that you have to change your lifestyle to avoid this risk. It's very rare for people of normal weight to have fatty liver, so they have to be very unhappy with their genes, says Vesterhus.
However, some develop serious diseases due to fatty liver.
– In some people, the accumulation of fat causes inflammation of the liver, which can in turn lead to scarring and cirrhosis, and in the worst case, a liver transplant. A very small percentage may also develop liver cancer due to fatty liver. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on their lifestyle if you catch the foie gras, says Vesterhus.
SUPERVISION: Mette Vesterhus is head of the Norwegian Gastroenterology Society and a researcher at the University of Bergen. Photo: Private
Liver transplantation and liver cancer
The latest figures that Vesterhus can refer to are:
20-30% of the European population has foie gras. Of these, about three percent develop liver inflammation and 0.2 to 0.5% liver cancer.
Nevertheless, in the EU, 200 to 500 000 dizzy people are suspected of developing liver cancer because of their fatty liver.
– In the United States, fatty liver is the third leading cause of liver transplantation. The British newspaper The Guardian wrote in 2015 that one-third of adult Britons were suffering from fatty liver and British experts estimate that most liver transplants in the UK by 2020 will be the result of a disease of the liver. adipose liver, says Vesterhus.
In Norway, we are slightly behind the United States and the United Kingdom, but the trend is the same.
– We had patients in Norway who had to undergo liver transplantation as a result of fatty liver disease, says Vesterhus.
With sneakers
The good news is that it is possible to get rid of fatty liver – all by itself. Good physical condition is the best remedy for fatty liver.
A new study, conducted by researchers at NTNU's Heart Exercise Research Group (CERG) and the University of Queensland, Australia, concludes with the following:
People in poor physical shape have increased the odds of having fatty liver.
Studies have shown that sedation increases the risk of hepatic steatosis, but the study shows that fitness level is the most important factor.
– Even people who sit a little during the day have significantly increased the incidence of fatty liver if their condition is in poor condition, says Ilaria Croc, postdoctoral fellow at NTNU, at Gemini.
In the study, researchers followed 16,000 people in North Trøndelag. They all tested their oxygen consumption at the beginning of the study, as well as completed
blood tests and body composition tests. Among them, there was 36%, or about 5,600 participants, who had fatty liver.
These 5,600 people were followed for nine years and it turned out that the risk of death increased by more than 50% for the fifth who had estimated the worst condition.
Must be sweaty and breathless
Only one in three Norwegians comply with the recommendation of the Norwegian Directorate of Health regarding physical activity, which represents a little over 20 minutes of moderate physical activity per day.
The recommendation is 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, a little more than 20 minutes a day or 75 minutes of high intensity.
The NTNU study shows, however, that it does not continue to exercise moderately 150 minutes per week if its goal is to protect against fatty liver.
– However, a good deal is no better for fitness if it only exerts a moderate intensity. High intensity exercises improve the fitness even more. My desire is to exercise with enough stress so you have to sweat and out of breath, says Croci Gemini.
The Health Directorate also writes that you need to train more, if not more, if you want to improve your health even further:
"To benefit from additional health benefits, adults and seniors should do 300 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, or 150 minutes of high intensity," said the director. the health.
Senior Vesterhus is not surprised by the results of the NTNU study.
– We used to say that we had to reduce the weight of ten percent to get rid of fatty liver, which we accomplished by doing more physical exercise and by eating healthier. Exercise is especially important here because we know that exercise helps, even if one fails to reduce weight by ten percent, says Vesterhus, and continues:
– This is probably due to the fact that exercise affects the composition of blood cholesterol and the body's sensitivity to insulin. Thus, the study confirms what we already know, namely that exercise is the best cure for fatty liver.
His more you train, his better health
That exercise and activity are good for health is indisputable.
But an increasing number of studies show that you have to sweat well and be out of breath to gain extra health benefits.
A study conducted by NTNU in the autumn of 2018 showed that a good physical condition can halve the risk of heart attack.
The study shows, however, that even a slight increase in fitness will have major health benefits, but the more you train, the better your health.
The study confirmed the results of a US study that simply concluded the following: its better shape, longer life. The less exercise you do, the greater the risk of premature death.
Cardiologist Wael Jaber of Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, compared poor physical fitness to other risk factors such as smoking and obesity.
– Lack of training should be considered as an equally important risk factor, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking – if it is stronger than everyone else. It should almost be treated as an illness for which a prescription can be obtained – and this prescription is a training.
In October 2018, Wael Jaber published a published study on the correlation between cardiorespiratory exercise and early death.
Here too, the researchers concluded that the more you play sports, the longer and healthier your life. The less exercise you do, the greater the risk of premature death.
If you want to get a good indicator of your fitness level, you can use the condenser calculator.
You can also perform some of the tests described in this article: How to determine the quality of your fitness.
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