Excess Weight, Drinking Boost Liver Damage

Overweight women who drink too much alcohol greatly increase their risk of liver damage, a new study finds. The study included more than 107,000 women. Researchers divided them into groups based on weight and how much alcohol they drank. Overweight women who drank heavily had three times the risk of chronic liver disease (cirrhosis) and death as light drinkers of normal weight. Heavy drinking was defined as more than 15 units of alcohol per week. One unit is equal to 25 milliliters (ml) of whisky (about 1 ounce) or half of a 175 ml glass of wine. A second study also found a higher risk of liver cancer for people who had fatty liver disease and were overweight, obese or had type 2 diabetes. Both studies were presented at a conference. HealthDay News wrote about them April 27.