Intermittent Fasting Plus Exercise Aids Hepatic Steatosis

THURSDAY Feb. 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Combining intermittent fasting with exercise is effective for reducing hepatic steatosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) but may not offer more benefit than fasting alone, according to a study published in the Jan. 3 issue of Cell Metabolism.

Mark Ezpeleta, Ph.D., from the University of Illinois in Chicago, and colleagues compared the effects of combining alternate-day fasting (ADF) with moderate-intensity exercise (five sessions per week; 60 minutes/session) versus fasting alone or exercise alone on intrahepatic triglyceride (IHTG) content. The analysis included 80 adults with obesity and NAFLD. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three intervention groups or the control group.

The researchers found that at month 3, IHTG content was significantly reduced in the combination ADF/exercise group (−5.48 percent) versus the exercise group (−1.30 percent) and the control group (−0.17 percent). However, there was not a significant difference versus the ADF alone group (−2.25 percent). In the combination group, body weight, fat mass, waist circumference, and alanine transaminase levels were significantly decreased, while insulin sensitivity significantly increased versus the control group. There were no differences noted between groups in lean mass, aspartate transaminase, hemoglobin A1c, blood pressure, plasma lipids, liver fibrosis score, or hepatokines.

"When we compared the results of our study groups, we saw clearly that the most improved patients were in the group that followed the alternate-day fasting diet and exercised five days a week," a coauthor said in a statement. "The people who only dieted or only exercised did not see the same improvements, which reinforces the importance of these two relatively inexpensive lifestyle modifications on overall health and on combating chronic diseases like fatty liver disease."

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