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Western diet linked to increased NAFLD risk among adolescents

Adolescents who followed Western dietary patterns high in fat and sugar intake at age 14 years were more likely to develop nonalcoholic fatty liver disease within three years, according to a recent study.

Researchers administered a food frequency questionnaire at age 14 years and performed liver ultrasound at age 17 years among 995 adolescents born to women enrolled in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study between 1989 and 1991. Researchers calculated z scores for healthy and Western dietary patterns. Consumption of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, fish and fiber correlated with a healthy diet, and foods such as red and processed meat, fried foods, soft drinks and other items high in fat and sugar correlated with a Western diet.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was observed in 15.2% of the cohort when evaluated at 17 years. Among those with NAFLD, 54.1% were classified as overweight or obese at age 14. Participants with a higher Western dietary pattern score at 14 years were at elevated risk for NAFLD at 17 years (OR=1.59; 95% CI, 1.17-2.14), particularly those within the highest quartile (OR=2.64, 95% CI, 1.34-5.18 vs. the lowest quartile). Adjustment for BMI at 14 years, however, rendered both associations nonsignificant (OR=1.12; 95% CI, 0.81-1.55 for higher Western score; OR=1.32; 95% CI, 0.64-2.72 for highest vs. lowest quartile).

In subgroup analysis of 191 obese participants, a healthy diet at age 14 significantly protected against NAFLD at 17 years (OR=0.63; 95% CI, 0.41-0.96). The association between Western diet and NAFLD risk did not reach statistical significance (OR=1.53; 95% CI, 0.94-2.5).

Wendy Oddy

“As NAFLD is associated with obesity and diabetes, and with the rise in the prevalence of these in the past two decades, NAFLD is now the leading cause of liver injury,” researcher Wendy Oddy, MPH, PhD, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at University of Western Australia, said in a press release. “As dietary patterns are formed during childhood and carried through to adulthood, the Western diet has a potential to cause long-term liver damage.”