A LOCALLY-based national charity has backed a health expert’s claim that overeating is placing the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people at risk.

Professor Martin Lombard, national clinical director for liver at the Department of Health, warned that up to half a million youngsters between four and 14 could be in danger of developing fatty liver disease, which is linked to being overweight.

The condition happens when fat builds up in the liver, causing inflammation and swelling.

In some people, it can progress to cirrhosis.

“We do not want to see the next generations dying young from a condition that can be prevented,” said Prof Lombard.

Sarah Matthews, spokesperson for the Ringwood-based British Liver Trust, said: “Children’s livers are being cultivated for disease by a poor diet and lack of exercise.

“Even though alcohol is regarded as the key cause of liver disease in the UK, weight-related liver damage is set to become a huge public health problem. If the projections hold true, obesity could overtake alcohol as the biggest single driver of cirrhosis in the future.”

At the moment, a quarter of four and five-year-olds in this country are overweight or obese.

Experts predict that if current trends continue, 63 per cent of all children will be obese by 2050.

About one in five adults in the UK are thought to have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said: “We all need to be aware that fat is not only stored on our body surface, but also in and around internal organs.”