High Fat Diet During Pregnancy Increases Risk of Liver Disease in Offspring

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition where fat builds up in the liver, is now the most common chronic liver disease diagnosed in adults and children. Although the disease is linked with obesity, scientists don''t fully understand why some people develop it and others don''t. Exposure to a high-fat diet in the womb and immediately after birth may change the liver in a way that promotes more rapid progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease later in life.