Fatty Liver Disease (FLD) — also called Steatotic liver disease (SLD) — involves having excess fat in your liver. Metabolic conditions and heavy alcohol use are risk factors. Depending on the type of SLD you have, the fat buildup may not cause problems, or it may lead to liver damage. Often, you can prevent or even reverse SLD with medications and lifestyle changes.
In most cases, fatty liver disease doesn’t cause any serious problems or prevent your liver from functioning normally. But for 7% to 30% of people with the condition, fatty liver disease gets worse over time. It progresses through three stages:
