Research
Energy balance
High fructose intake is a significant independent environmental risk factor for NAFLD in lean, non-obese individuals, particularly children and adolescents.
If you are lean and have fatty liver, reducing sugary drinks and high-fructose foods is a critical first step. This is especially important for children and adolescents, where fructose intake was the only independent predictor of NAFLD in one study.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
In a study on young nonobese subjects without obvious metabolic risk factors, the only independent predictor for the presence of NAFLD was a higher soft drink and juices consumption, up to fourfold compared with healthy controls.
Why this rating
Based on observational studies; causality is strongly suggested but not proven by RCTs in this specific lean subgroup.
Source
NASH in Lean Individuals
Ramy Younes et al. · Seminars in Liver Disease · 2019
DOI 10.1055/s-0038-1677517
narrative_reviewCited 233×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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