In UK, Obesity to Become Leading Cause of Cirrhosis within 20 Years

Dr. Christopher Hawkey, the president of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) has called obesity England’s gravest health threat and said that within 20 years, obesity will cause more cases of cirrhosis than alcohol abuse.

Obesity is already the leading cause of less severe forms of liver disease, and there has been a 500% increase in cirrhosis cases in those aged 35 and 55 over the past ten years

Hawkey said obesity on a national scale “is almost certainly going to reverse the rise in life expectancy – so we start living shorter lives than before.”

Hawkey made his comments after a recent BSG poll showed that only 1 out of 6 people knew that excess weight gain could lead to liver disease or cancer.