People should avoid eating too many oily and fatty foods, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) has warned, citing a sharp increase in those diagnosed with fatty liver disease.
The number of people treated annually for fatty liver disease increased from 142,000 in 2016 to 168,000 last year, but research shows that there might be as many as 6 million Taiwanese with the condition, the administration said.
Over the past several years, fatty liver disease has consistently been the No. 1 or No. 2 disease for which people have received treatment, it added.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
More men than women are treated for the disease and 70 percent of those diagnosed with it are aged 40 to 69, the administration said.
“Because the prevalence of fatty liver disease is about 33 percent, if you remove those aged 15 or younger from the calculation, there are probably about 6 million people with the disease in Taiwan,” Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation chairperson Yang Pei-ming (楊培銘) said on Saturday.
In those with a fatty liver, the fat content of the liver cells is 5 percent or more, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital physician Lin Chun-yan (林俊彥) said.
Inflammation of the liver could bring about hepatitis, he said.
In some cases, the disease can develop into fibrosis, cirrhosis or even cancer, he said, adding that the development of a fatty liver and related conditions has been tied to obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels.
People should reduce their intake of fatty meats, deep-fried foods and foods containing sugar and oil, said Hsu Hui-yu (許惠玉), head of the nutrition section at the John Tung Foundation.
This is especially important as most people in modern times spend more of the day sitting, which can increase the likelihood of fatty liver disease and cause a greater concentration of triglycerides in the blood, he said.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people tend to eat more fatty meats and sugary foods, so they should balance this out after the holiday with proper diet and exercise, he said.
Those with fatty liver disease have a higher risk of developing heart disease, so they should get a medical checkup at least once a year, Yang said.
Having fatty liver disease should not cause a person to panic, as maintaining a healthy diet and an active lifestyle can often improve the condition, said Lu Sheng-nan (盧勝男), a physician in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had