Parents, here is yet another reason to keep those pizzas, snacks, cookies and soft drinks off from your children's reach. We have known junk food to create obesity, diabetes and other illnesses in children, but here's one more reason to worry. New research shows that children who eat junk food are more prone to liver malfunction.
According to a study, led by researchers from Bambino Gesu Hospital in Italy, children who regularly take fructose present in soda, sweetened beverages, pizza and salty food, biscuits and yogurt may be prone to liver disease. This is because the dietary fructose present in such foods increase serum uric acid concentrations, which is a primary cause of liver diseases. This is said to be the first study which connects liver problems to dietary fructose consumption.
Both uric acid concentration and fructose consumption has been found to be high in individuals with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, characterised by accumulation of fat in the liver cells. While fatty liver disease is common in alcoholics, this form is seen in people who consume little or no alcohol. The study has also found it to cause NASH, which also involves inflammation of liver cells.
For the study, published in the Journal of Hepatology, the team analysed 271 obese children and adolescents with liver diseases. Nearly 90 per cent indulged in drinking sodas and soft drinks one or more times a week. Almost 95 per cent of patients regularly consumed morning and afternoon snacks consisting of crackers, pizza and salty food, biscuits and yogurt, among others
