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Fatty liver

7-minute read

Key facts

  • Fatty liver disease is a common condition — it happens in about 1 in every 3 Australian adults.
  • It is when too much fat has built up in your liver, which can lead to liver damage.
  • In most people liver damage can be reversed.
  • You can prevent or improve this condition with a healthy lifestyle that includes lowering your alcohol intake.

What is fatty liver disease?

Fatty liver is when there's too much fat in your liver. Your liver is the body's main organ for processing food and waste materials.

A healthy liver contains very little or no fat. If you drink too much alcohol, or eat too much food, your body turns some of the calories into fat. This fat is stored in your liver cells.

You have fatty liver when fat makes up more than 5% of the total weight of your liver.

Over time fatty liver can lead to cirrhosis (scarring).

It's common, about 1 in every 3 Australian adults has fatty liver disease.

There are 2 main types of fatty liver disease:

  1. metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD)
  2. alcohol-related fatty liver disease

Metabolic associated fatty liver disease is the most common type of fatty liver disease. This used to be called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Alcohol-related fatty liver disease is caused by drinking too much alcohol.

Illustration showing a normal healthy liver compared to one with fatty liver disease where the fat is stored in the liver cells
A normal healthy liver compared to one with fatty liver disease where the fat is stored in the liver cells.

What are the symptoms of fatty liver disease?

Fatty liver disease usually doesn't cause symptoms. People who do have symptoms may:

  • feel tired or generally unwell
  • have pain in the top right part of their abdomen
  • lose weight

Signs that you may have more serious fatty liver disease are:

CHECK YOUR SYMPTOMS — Use the Symptom Checker and find out if you need to seek medical help.

What causes fatty liver disease?

Fatty liver disease is usually due to a number of factors over a long period of time.

The most common causes of fatty liver are:

Less common causes of fatty liver are:

Some people can also get fatty liver in pregnancy. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) is a rare complication. It may happen in the third trimester or soon after birth.

When should I see my doctor?

Fatty liver disease often does not cause obvious symptoms. So, you may not know you have it until a routine test shows signs of a liver problem.

See your doctor if you have signs of more serious liver disease.

FIND A HEALTH SERVICE — The Service Finder can help you find doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and other health services.

How is fatty liver disease diagnosed?

Your doctor will diagnose fatty liver by talking to you first, then examining you.

You may be asked to have some blood tests including a liver function test. You may also be asked to have a scan such as:

Your doctor may refer you to a gastroenterologist (a doctor who specialises in treating the digestive system).

You may need to have a biopsy of your liver. This will also help your doctor see how much fat has built up.

ASK YOUR DOCTOR — Preparing for an appointment? Use the Question Builder for general tips on what to ask your GP or specialist.

How is fatty liver disease treated?

Making changes to your lifestyle can improve fatty liver and even reverse it.

If you have MAFLD, you will be advised to:

If your fatty liver is caused by alcohol, then the most important thing to do is give up alcohol. This will stop you from getting a more serious condition.

Medicines for fatty liver disease

There are no medicines to treat fatty liver disease.

Other treatment options

Depending on the cause of your fatty liver, your doctor may refer you to a:

What are the complications of fatty liver disease?

People with fatty liver disease have a greater chance of:

  • heart problems
  • stroke
  • kidney disease

The extra fat in your liver causes liver inflammation, which leads to fibrosis (scarring) of the liver. It may lead to cirrhosis. Which can in turn lead to liver cancer.

Some people will need a liver transplant.

Can fatty liver disease be prevented?

To prevent fatty liver disease, follow the same lifestyle advice given to people with the condition. This includes:

  • eating a healthy diet that is rich in fruit and vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats
  • maintaining a healthy weight
  • drinking no or very little alcohol
  • being physically active on most days of the week

If you haven't been exercising regularly, speak with your doctor first.

Resources and support

You can read more about liver diseases at the Liver Foundation website. You can call their free support line on 1800 841 118 to speak to a liver nurse.

The Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA) has information on fatty liver disease. These are available in English, Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), and Vietnamese.

Read the NHMRC Alcohol Guidelines for trusted information on reducing the risk of alcohol.

You can also use these calculators to work out how much you are drinking:

If you need support to lower your alcohol use, you can visit your doctor or local community health service. You can also:

You can also call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria). A registered nurse is available to speak with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.

Last reviewed: March 2025


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Need more information?

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Top results

Exercise improves fatty liver - myDr.com.au

Exercise on its own can achieve reductions in liver fat in people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, even if a person doesn't lose weight, a study has found.

Read more on myDoctor website

Liver - fatty liver disease | Better Health Channel

The damage caused by fatty liver disease can often be halted or reversed through simple lifestyle changes.

Read more on Better Health Channel website

Fatty liver - myDr.com.au

Fatty liver is a condition most commonly found in heavy drinkers or people who are obese or have diabetes. There are usually no symptoms.

Read more on myDoctor website

Metabolic associated fatty liver disease

What is metabolic associated fatty liver disease? Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and a common type of liver cancer. More than 5.5 million Australians are, or have been, affected by liver disease, including MAFLD. If left unchecked, it can lead to liver cancer and failure. In fact, MAFLD is expected to become the leading cause of liver transplant within the next 20 years. It used to be known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease but with advances in current knowledge of fatty liver diseases, it became apparent the term could no longer be used to describe a disease with several root causes. The disease not only impacts patients who consume alcohol and those who do not, but also potentially impacts all patients with any form of liver disease by acting as a disease modifier. Currently, lifestyle intervention is the frontline treatment for both obesity and MAFLD however, only a small proportion of people successfully manage their condition with lifestyle alone. And when it comes to diagnosis, few effective non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic tools exist for this disease. It is also confounded by statistics that show around 40 per cent of people who have MAFLD are not overweight. Early detection is critical to preventing subsequent complications, however more than 80% of MAFLD patients have few symptoms and fail to visit their doctor until their disease has progressed to a stage that is mostly irreversible. As for treatment, there are currently no clinically approved pharmacological treatments specifically for metabolic associated fatty liver disease. Thats why the work of Associate Professor Brian Drewand his team is so important. They hope to establish why some people are more prone to fatty liver disease than others.

Read more on Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute website

Fatty Liver Disease - Liver Foundation

About 1 in 3 Australian adults has fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease is when fat builds up in the liver’s cells. It’s normal for all livers to contain some fat. But when fat makes up more than 5 to 10% of the total weight of the liver, it’s called fatty liver.

Read more on Liver Foundation website

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