Free guide · Scarlet Beast En español →

Fatty liver disease in children: NAFLD and NASH, the signs, the tests, treatment, and food

For a parent or caretaker whose child was told they have fatty liver disease (NAFLD, also called MASLD), or NASH; for anyone whose child had a blood test with high liver enzymes; and for the child, when they are old enough to want to know. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what NAFLD is and its two types, how common it is and who gets it, why it is usually silent, the health problems and genes that make it more likely and the other causes doctors check for, the blood tests, ultrasound and liver biopsy, gradual weight change and habits for the whole family, why no medicine is approved for children and why supplements need the doctor first, and food. It builds the words to say to your child’s doctor, so you do not have to find them, and prints a card.

An upset stomach, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for throwing up, diarrhea, heartburn and constipation, on one list.

Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.

This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 19, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) pages Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease & NASH in Children (all sections: Definition & Facts, Symptoms & Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Eating, Diet, & Nutrition; last reviewed December 2021) and its Spanish pages Enfermedad del hígado graso no alcohólica y EHNA en niños (December 2021), which say the same; the Spanish pages use only the older names. The numbers (5% to 10% of children; 20% to 50% of them with NASH; three or more features; under age 10) are NIDDK’s, and we add none. Ours: “if you believe it is an emergency, call 911” (NIDDK names no 911 on these pages); 988; that the medicine the FDA approved in March 2024 for NASH, on our adult page, was approved for adults (NIDDK’s pages, from 2021, say none is approved for children); that no one is to blame and no child deserves to be shamed about their body; talking about health and strength, not size; never using food as a reward or a punishment; the eating-disorder signs to tell the doctor about; not stopping a medicine because of the list of other causes; the questions to ask; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the section on clinical trials (except NIDDK’s one line on vitamin E, with its “more research is needed”), the references, NIDDK’s video, and NIDDK’s links to other sites. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.