What is fatty liver (steatotic liver disease)

A healthy liver has very little fat in it. If too much fat builds up this is called fatty liver.

Fatty liver is an early stage in some types of liver disease. At this point there is no serious damage or scarring in your liver. Fatty liver can be completely reversed if the cause of the fat is taken away.

But if the fat continues to build up, your liver can move on to the next stage of liver disease (hepatitis) where there is fat and inflammation.

This page is about fatty liver as a stage of long term liver disease. For information about acute fatty liver of pregnancy click here.

On this page:

What causes fatty liver?
What happens if I have fatty liver?
Can I stop fatty liver?
Getting help

What causes fatty liver?

Your liver naturally has some fat cells in it. But the amount of fat in your liver can increase if:

you are overweight
You eat a lot of food high in fat and sugar
you have type 2 diabetes
you drink too much alcohol
you are taking certain medications

Fatty liver can be caused by one of these things or a combination of them.

Fatty liver is most commonly associated with a condition called MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease), previously called NAFLD (non-alcohol related liver disease).

But it is also an early stage in a number of other liver conditions. Including alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD).

What happens if I have fatty liver?

Your liver can carry on working even if it has a lot of fat in it. So you will probably not notice any problems unless your condition gets worse.

Over time the fat can start to cause inflammation in your liver. Your condition can then move on to the next stage. This is called steatohepatitis. You might also hear it called hepatitis.

Find out more about hepatitis.

Can I stop fatty liver?

Fatty liver can be completely reversed.

The best way to do this is to take away the things that are causing the fat to build up.

Try to lose weight or keep to a healthy weight
Eat a healthy balanced diet
Increase how active you are
Give up or cut down on drinking alcohol
Quit smoking

None of these things are easy. But it is well worth making these changes before your liver condition can get worse.

Your liver has an amazing ability to repair itself. But it can only take so much. Eventually the damage will be so severe that it cannot get back to normal. Many people have liver disease for years with no symptoms. They only find out when they develop cirrhosis and suddenly become seriously ill. At that stage there can be very few treatment options.

There’s support available to help you make changes, find out more below.

You can find out about your risk factors using our free and confidential online screener.

Getting help

You are more likely to make the changes you need to if you get help. You can ask at your GP surgery to find out what support services are available in your area.

We also have lots of information and links to support on our website:

Eating, drinking and keeping active.

Alcohol FAQs and support.

Support for you

Next: What is hepatitis?

Special thanks

We would like to thank Professor Jonathan Fallowfield, Chair of Translational Liver Research & Principal Investigator, Institute for Regeneration & Repair, University of Edinburgh, for his help reviewing this information.

Published: June 2024

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