Yoojin Lee studied food science and engineering in South Korea. A growing interest in how nutrients affect the body led her to the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources where her research focused on the relationship between obesity-associated diseases and foods that might have protective effects and other positive health benefits.
Obesity, a state caused by an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, is an established risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD refers to a range of conditions concerning the accumulation of excess fat in the liver of people who drink little or no alcohol. There is an increasing prevalence of NAFLD. It is estimated to be the most common liver disease in the world and affects 80 to 100 million in the US alone. With the obesity rate of US adults recently found to be 42 percent, the impacts of health are far-reaching.