China’s Fatty Liver Crisis: A Looming Public Health Emergency

As of today, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to affect ∼30% of the global adult population.1 Originally considered a Western disease, studies in the past 2 decades have firmly established that NAFLD is also the most common chronic liver disease in Asia.2,3 In the United States, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the active form of NAFLD with faster fibrosis progression, has become one of the leading causes of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).4