# What causes "Ethiopian Pot Belly"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-ethiopian-pot-belly/71196>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 4, 2001, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-ethiopian-pot-belly/71196 "2001-07-04T10:24:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 11

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**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-ethiopian-pot-belly/71196/11 "2001-07-06T17:05:12Z")

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Its a swollen liver.

In individuals suffering starvation, their supply of blood sugar and fat reserves have benn exhausted, leaving only the muscle mass as fuel.  
Unfortunately, the metabolic by-products of the body consuming its own flesh are toxic, thus inflaming the tissues of the body’s main metabolic processor.

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