Diet and sugary drinks raise risk of common liver disease by up to 60%, new research finds

CNN —

Drinking as little as one can of diet soda a day may increase the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by 60%, while drinking a sugary beverage could raise the risk by 50%, a new unpublished study found.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, is a condition in which fat builds up in the liver of people who drink little to no alcohol. The damage can be similar to what's seen in a heavy drinker and lead to cirrhosis — advanced scarring of the liver — as well as liver cancer.

The condition, which is also called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD, is one of the leading causes of liver cancer. It's estimated that NAFLD has increased by 50% in the United States within the past three decades — today, some 38% of the population has the condi