Possible causes include exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, with poor digestion from lack of lipases, loss of bile salts, which reduces micelle formation, and small intestinal disease-producing malabsorption.
In addition to this, bile also plays a role in fat absorption, where dietary lipids are combined so that pancreatic lipases can hydrolyze them before going towards the small intestine.
[2] Other features of fat malabsorption may also occur such as reduced bone density, difficulty with vision under low light levels, bleeding, bruising, and slow blood clotting times.
[1] Orlistat (also known by trade names Xenical and Alli) is a diet pill that works by blocking the enzymes that digest fat.
[11] Consuming escolar and oilfish (sometimes mislabelled as butterfish) will often cause steatorrhea, also referred to as gempylotoxism or gempylid fish poisoning or keriorrhea.