Expert Quote by Dr. Ankur Garg, Group Director & HOD – Liver Transplant & GI Surgery, Paras Health Gurugram

What is changing rapidly in clinical practice is the profile of liver disease—it is no longer limited to alcohol use or obesity. We are now seeing young, non-drinking, even lean individuals with clear evidence of fatty liver and early fibrosis. Current estimates suggest that over 1.3 billion people globally are living with fatty liver disease, and this could rise to nearly 1.8 billion by 2050. In India, almost 38–40% of adults may already have fatty liver, with many unaware because the disease progresses silently in its early stages.

What makes this particularly concerning is that a large number of these patients have normal liver enzyme levels, which creates a false sense of reassurance. There is often a clear mismatch between routine blood tests and the actual condition of the liver, meaning the disease remains undetected until it has already progressed.

We are also seeing liver disease increasingly linked with metabolic factors—early diabetes, abdominal obesity, and sedentary lifestyles—making it part of a larger metabolic health crisis. This shift means we can no longer wait for symptoms or abnormal reports. Early and more targeted evaluation is critical, because once the liver starts showing overt damage, the window for complete reversal begins to narrow.

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