The link between obesity and the aging of the liver has been proven for the first time by researchers at UCLA.
The study, using a novel biological clock, proves the theory that obesity ages a person faster and can explain the early onset of many diseases such as liver cancer in those who are obese.
The research used an epigenetic clock to show how carrying excessive weight can negatively affect certain tissues in the body.
Study author Steve Horvath, a professor of human genetics, said: 'This is the first study that evaluated the effect of body weight on the biological ages of a variety of human tissues.
'Given the obesity epidemic in the Western world, the results of this study are highly relevant for public health.'
The research found that although obesity doesn't affect the epigenetic age of fat, muscle or blood tissue, it does increase the age of the liver by 3.3 years for every 10 body mass index units.
Horvath added: 'For some people, the age acceleration due to obesity will be much more severe, even up to 10 years older.'
