For Parents

Fatty liver disease is a a growing problem among children. It is estimated that 6 million children ages 14 and under have fatty liver disease. Check out the PDFs shown below. A deeper dive into this subject can be found under “Your Child and Liver Health”.

The growth of fatty liver among children is usually attributed to obesity, but it also linked to excessive sugar consumption. Children today, along with adults, consume too much sugar. Take a look at this scary chart.

A study conducted by Robert Lustig demonstrated the effect of removing sugar from a child’s diet. Completely removing sugar is obviously not practical on a long-term basis. No birthday cake? No stop for ice cream? Probably not happening. But it is possible to be mindful of food choices and reduce the amount of sugar consumed.

Here are the results of Lustig’s study. More information can be found at robertlustig.com