A new study has found that cutting down on the consumption of fruit juices, food with added sugar and soft drinks can help in reducing the amount of fat and inflammation in the livers of overweight children. The research, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), asserts that keeping a check on the intake of sugary drinks and food is a prudent lifestyle choice.

The report that has been quoted in The New York Times reveals that many people who have fatty liver are not aware of the symptoms. However, those with fatty livers run the risk of suffering from heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, liver cancer and/or cirrhosis.

Although no food specificities have been mentioned for children who have a fatty liver, maintaining a healthy diet that includes less added sugar has been recommended by experts. “The current standard of care is very similar to what we would recommend for any child that is overweight,” Dr. Miriam Vos, an author of the new study and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine said. “Unfortunately, that general recommendation hasn’t improved the disease as much as we would like, and there are no large randomized trials looking at which diet is the best one for fatty liver.”