Hyderabad: Union health and family welfare minister JP Nadda on Friday informed the Lok Sabha that 118 IT employees in Hyderabad were found to have metabolic syndrome associated with fatty liver disease.
He was responding to queries from Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who asked whether the govt was aware of a recent research that found 84 per cent of IT employees surveyed in Hyderabad had Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD), and 71 per cent were obese, and the steps being taken by the govt.
JP Nadda, in a written reply, stated: “As per the study published in Nature Scientific Reports Journal in 2025 titled ‘Prevalence of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease among Information Technology Employees in India,’ involving 345 IT employees in Hyderabad, Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) was present in 118 (34.20%) of the employees. A total of 290 (84.06%) employees had increased liver fat accumulation, which indicates a high prevalence of MAFLD among IT employees.”
He further said that an ICMR study, conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Liver and Biliary Science, Delhi, under the Indian Metabolic and Liver Disease (IMELD) Phase-I, aimed to understand regional risk factors for Fatty Liver Disease (FLD), Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), Diabetes Mellitus (DM), and Hypertension (HTN) in various villages.
“The Union health ministry issued operational guidelines for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, which provides for a healthy diet, regular physical activity, weight management, and reduced sugar/saturated fat consumption for the prevention and management of NAFLD.
Further, States and Union Territories have been requested to undertake screening and risk stratification by the health care providers as per the guidelines and guide appropriate referrals,” Nadda added.