Professor Martin Lombard, of the Department of Health, has warned that obese kids are at a high risk of developing liver disease as compared to kids with normal body weight. Professor Lombard has also said that about 500,000 obese kids in the UK are at a high risk of developing liver disease. Most of these kids are found to be of four to 14 years of age.

Sarah Matthews, from the British Liver Trust, said that the main factors responsible for the obesity of kids are poor diet and lack of exercise. Most of the kids adopt an unhealthy lifestyle which lacks physical activity. She also said that obesity could overtake alcohol as the biggest cause of cirrhosis.

According to Prof Martin Lombard, UK's National Clinical Director for Liver Disease, the main reason behind the "non alcoholic liver disease" is the accumulation of fat in liver cells due to obesity. This accumulated fat could stop the organ from functioning. Obesity

Professor Lombard said that there is a potential treatment for the disease but the intensity of the disease could be reduced by weight loss and eating a healthy diet.