REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1675713
The Evolving Landscape of Pediatric Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: From Epidemiology to Future Therapeutics
Provisionally accepted- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention, and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
The global rise in pediatric obesity has paralleled an alarming increase in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). MASLD in children represents a significant public health concern due to its potential progression to advanced liver disease and its association with a myriad of cardiometabolic comorbidities. This review elucidates the risk and consequences of pediatric MASLD in the population of children with obesity. It also identifies critical research gaps and outlines future directions for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of pediatric MASLD.
Keywords: Obesity, Childhood Obesity, MASLD, NAFLD, Fatty Liver, steatosis, pediatric, Pediatric Obesity
Received: 29 Jul 2025; Accepted: 13 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 R Putri. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Resthie R Putri, resthie.putri@ki.se
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.