Effect of aerobic exercise and diet on liver fat in pre-diabetic patients with non-alcoholic-fatty-liver-disease: A randomized controlled trial

: Cheng SL, Ge J, Zhao C, Le SL, Yang YF, Ke DD, Wu N, Tan X, Zhang XB, Du XM, Sun JQ, Wang RW, Shi YY, Borra RJH, Parkkola R, Wiklund P, Lu DJ, Lu DJ

Publisher: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

: 2017

: Scientific Reports

: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS

: SCI REP-UK

: ARTN 15952

: 7

: 11

: 2045-2322

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-16159-x

The study aimed to assess whether aerobic exercise (AEx) training and a fibre-enriched diet can reduce hepatic fat content (HFC) and increase glycaemic control in pre-diabetic patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Six-hundred-and-three patients from seven clinics in Yangpu district, Shanghai, China were recruited. Of them 115 individuals aged 50-65-year fulfilled the inclusion criteria (NAFLD with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance) and were randomly assigned into exercise (AEx n = 29), diet (Diet n = 28), exercise plus diet (AED n = 29), or no-intervention (NI n = 29) groups. Progressive supervised AEx training (60-75% VO2max intensity) was given 2-3 times/week in 30-60 min/sessions, and the diet intervention was provided as lunch with 38% carbohydrate and diet fibre of 12 g/day for 8.6-month. HFC was assessed by 1H MRS. We found that HFC was significantly reduced in the AEx (-24.4%), diet (-23.2%), and AED (-47.9%) groups by contrast to the 20.9% increase in the NI group (p = 0.001 for all) after intervention. However, only AED group significantly decreased HbA1c (-4.4%, p = 0.01) compared with the NI group (-0.6%). Aerobic exercise training combined with fibre-enriched diet can reduce HFC more effectively than either exercise or increased fibre-intake alone in pre-diabetic patients with NAFLD.