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India Faces Rising Fatty Liver and Colorectal Cancer Burden
Doctors say India is dealing with more digestive illnesses linked to metabolism and lifestyle.
Fatty liver disease is common among both adults and children.
It is associated with diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.
It may not cause obvious symptoms until the liver is already damaged.
Doctors are also reporting more colorectal cancer cases among younger adults.
Some infections, including H. pylori and intestinal worms, still affect many people.
Celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease are also being recognized more often.
Doctors say people should get continuing symptoms checked early.
Experts will discuss these problems at a major gastroenterology meeting in India in 2026.
Experts say India has reduced several preventable infections but faces a growing burden of metabolic gastrointestinal diseases.
An AIIMS-led review found fatty liver disease in 38.6% of Indian adults and 35.4% of children.
A recent study reported clinically significant liver fibrosis in one in four patients with type 2 diabetes.
India recorded 40,430 new colorectal cancer cases among men and 24,433 among women in 2022.
Doctors urged evaluation of blood in stool, bowel changes, weight loss and other symptoms lasting beyond two to three weeks.
- Who
- Experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and other gastroenterology organizations, including Dr Pramod Garg, Dr Shalimar, Dr Govind Makharia and Dr Vineet Ahuja.
- What
- They warned that metabolic conditions such as fatty liver disease and colorectal cancer are increasing alongside persistent gastrointestinal infections and other digestive disorders.
- Where
- The health concerns concern India, while the congress will be held at Yashobhoomi in Dwarka, New Delhi.
- When
- The concerns were reported on September 1; the World Congress of Gastroenterology 2026 is scheduled for September 30 to October 3, 2026.
- Why
- Experts are calling for earlier detection, prevention and evaluation of persistent symptoms before gastrointestinal diseases progress.
Public-Health Progress
Emerging Disease Burden
India's health transition
Public-Health Progress
Experts said improvements in hygiene, vaccination, awareness and public-health measures have reduced several communicable and preventable diseases.
Emerging Disease Burden
Experts said these gains have occurred alongside an epidemiological shift toward metabolic and lifestyle-related gastrointestinal conditions.
Treatment versus prevention
Public-Health Progress
Existing medical technology, gastroenterologists and primary-care guidelines provide ways to detect and manage conditions.
Emerging Disease Burden
Doctors said people and health systems must focus more on actively promoting health and taking early symptoms seriously rather than waiting until patients become ill.
Changing disease profile
Public-Health Progress
Persistent infections such as Helicobacter pylori and intestinal worm infestations remain important and still require attention.
Emerging Disease Burden
Metabolic diseases, colorectal cancer and increasingly recognized conditions such as celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease are adding to India's gastrointestinal burden.
Key facts
- Fatty liver prevalence
- An AIIMS-led systematic review and meta-analysis found fatty liver disease in 38.6% of Indian adults and 35.4% of children.
- Liver fibrosis
- A recent study reported clinically significant liver fibrosis in one in four patients with type 2 diabetes.
- Colorectal cancer cases
- India recorded 40,430 new cases among men and 24,433 among women in 2022, according to available data.
- Celiac disease
- An AIIMS-led community study found celiac disease in approximately one in 96 people in northern India.
- Persistent infections
- Helicobacter pylori remains widespread, while intestinal worm infections continue to affect children and can contribute to anaemia and undernutrition.
- Early evaluation advice
- Experts said symptoms persisting beyond two to three weeks should be evaluated.
- Policy response
- India added fatty liver disease to its National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases in 2021 and issued primary-care detection guidelines.
- Upcoming congress
- The World Congress of Gastroenterology 2026 will be held in India from September 30 to October 3 at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka.
Quotes
Dr Govind Makharia
AIIMS professor and chairman of the local organising committee for WCOG 2026.
“India is facing an epidemiological shift at this time. We have made significant strides in controlling preventable disease through awareness, vaccinations and improving quality of life, however alongside these we are now seeing metabolic disease on a scale we have never handled before.”
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theprint.in
“India has never been short of gastroenterologists or technology. What we have lacked is the habit of taking early symptoms seriously.”
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Sources
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