Warding off liver mortality
World Liver Day (WLD) is celebrated on April 19 every year as a reminder of the importance of liver and the need to take proactive measures to maintain its health.
The WLD was launched in 2010 by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) with the intent to commemorate its foundation in 1966 and to raise awareness about critical hepatic disorders.
India needs to pay sustained attention to observe the day as the burden of hepatic diseases, including viral hepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is elevating sharply, posing significant challenges to our healthcare system and making liver mortality rates higher.
Recognising the importance of dietary habits in maintaining the health of the largest gland of the body, the World Health Organisation has announced ‘Food is Medicine’ theme for WLD-2025.
The theme emphasises the importance of nutrition in maintaining and upgrading liver health, informing how dietary modifications can prevent and manage liver diseases. It also promotes mindful eating and healthier food choices to safeguard the liver.
Critical analysis of the theme of the year interprets that doctors and liver specialists are not just practicing to prescribe medicines, rather they can also prescribe healthy food for individuals according to their age, gender and profession.
This year’s theme should prompt us to ask our healthcare provider about nutrition plans and resources, besides taking prescription as treatment or preventive medicine.
Celebrating the day is also important because liver plays a vital role in various body functions, including metabolism, detoxification and storage and digestion of fats and other nutrients. The day encourages adopting healthy lifestyles, including a balanced diet, regular exercise and avoiding excessive alcohol consumption. Food tips can work as a game changer for liver health, which is further a regulating factor for other vital organs.
Millions of Indians are living with liver disorders which could be prevented through organised steps to spread awareness on the subject.
About 40% people living a sedentary lifestyle are suffering from some grade of NAFLD, wherein fat accumulates in the liver making it ‘fatty’. If unchecked, it is sure to grow as a silent epidemic.
Celebrating the day in true spirit and following the WLD-2025 theme is imperative to check further rise in incidences of Hepatitis B and C, liver damage, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
We can ill afford to ignore the fact that India topped the global chart for liver mortality in 2021.
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