Research

Hormonal

Central obesity, measured by waist circumference (WC) or waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), is independently associated with an increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), even after adjusting for general obesity (BMI).

Monitor your waist circumference, not just your weight. If your waist is large, your risk for fatty liver disease is elevated, even if your BMI is normal. Prioritize reducing abdominal fat through diet and physical activity to mitigate this risk.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Central obesity may pose a greater threat to national health than general obesity, although both are independently associated with increased risk of NAFLD.
Qing Pang · World Journal of Gastroenterology · 2015

Why this rating

Based on a meta-analysis of 20 studies with moderate to high quality scores, though heterogeneity was high.

Source

Central obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease risk after adjusting for body mass index

Qing Pang · World Journal of Gastroenterology · 2015

DOI 10.3748/wjg.v21.i5.1650

Meta-analysis · 20 studiesCited 211×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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