Winchester residents were given the once over as the Love Your Liver roadshow rolled into town.
Organisers said over 100 people received a free liver check outside Winchester Cathedral on Friday as part of the tour - which also included stops in Luton, Watford, Reading and Southampton.
The campaign, which is run by the British Liver Trust, aims to raise public awareness of liver health risk factors in order to prevent liver disease by offering free scans to passers by.
On arrival, participants complete the British Liver Trust health screener, which asks a series of lifestyle questions. The answers to these questions generate a risk profile, and anyone with a medium or high risk will be offered a FibroScan check.
If the scan indicates possible liver damage, participants are given an advice letter to take to their GP and arrange for follow-up tests.
Among those who braved to 15-minute examination was Steve Brine MP. He said: “I am huge fan of population screening. It saves lives and the NHS a fortune. Every one of the new integrated care systems, which now organise all health services, should work with the British Liver Trust to further increase their reach with this brilliant opportunity to check your liver health.”
Love Your Liver encourages adults to take three simple steps to good liver health – reduce alcohol consumption, improve diet and exercise and reduce the risk of contracting viral hepatitis.
The scans measure the stiffness of the liver. Healthy livers are soft and elastic, but as fat or scarring builds up then the liver becomes harder.
Jonathan Worsfold of the Love Your Liver Roadshow said: "The purpose of the roadshow is for us to get out and about, educating the public about lifestyle related liver disease. Up to 90 per cent of all liver disease cases in the UK are lifestyle related, and the main risk factors are drinking too much alcohol, eating a poor diet and contracting viral hepatitis - so, our job is to explain what people need to do to keep their liver in a healthy state.
"Not enough people are aware of the risks attached to liver disease, it is one of those underestimated conditions. In fact, it is the only major cause of death in this country which is still on the rise. It is a silent killer and the big problem is that most symptoms don't tend to present themselves until the latter stages when the liver has already been severely damaged. That's why screenings like this are so important, so we can catch it at an early stage and with a few lifestyle changes can get the liver back to good health.
"A lot of people come along and are surprised by what we have to say. Alcohol is commonly known as a risk factor, but many of the people we speak to aren't aware of the other causes. Generally when we take these roadshows out around 18 per cent of those we scan will be advised to go for a follow up with their GP."
Steve Brine MP said; “I am huge fan of population screening. It saves lives and the NHS a fortune. Every one of the new integrated care systems, which now organise all health services, should work with the British Liver Trust to further increase their reach with this brilliant opportunity to check your liver health.”
