Effects of Moderate and Vigorous Exercise on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent risk factor for chronic liver disease and cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE To compare the effects of moderate and vigorous exercise on intrahepatic triglyceride content and metabolic risk factors among patients with NAFLD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this randomized clinical trial, participants with central obesity and NAFLD were recruited from community-based screening in Xiamen, China, from

Exercise Training as Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

“…Nine randomized control trials and four uncontrolled studies have investigated the effects of aerobic training in NAFLD (Table 1) [9][10][11][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. All of the studies included at least one aerobic training experimental group, with three studies containing multiple aerobic training groups of differing exercise intensities [11,22,24].…”

“…Maximum heart rate (MHR), heart rate reserve (HRR), maximal predicted heart rate (MPHR), metabolic equivalent of task (MET), or VO 2max were used to determine exercise intensity prescriptions-where intensities range from light to moderate (30-39% of HRR, 57-63% of HRR, 2.0-3.9 METs, and 37-45% of VO 2max ) moderate (40-59% of HRR, 64-76% of HRR, 4.0-5.9 METs, and 46-63% of VO 2max ), and vigorous (60-89% of HRR, 77-95% of HRR, 6.0-8.4 METs, and 64-90% of VO 2max ) [9][10][11][19][20][21][22]24,26,27,29]. Exercise modalities included recreational walking, treadmill running, cycle ergometry, cross-training, rowing, and rhythmic exercise [10,11,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Six studies used single modality exercise, while four studies used a multitude of exercise modalities [9][10][11][20][21][22][23][25][26][27].…”

“…Exercise modalities included recreational walking, treadmill running, cycle ergometry, cross-training, rowing, and rhythmic exercise [10,11,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Six studies used single modality exercise, while four studies used a multitude of exercise modalities [9][10][11][20][21][22][23][25][26][27]. Only two studies did not specify aerobic training.…”

“…Only two studies did not specify aerobic training. Exercise intervention lengths ranged from one week to one year, with the most commonly used duration as 16-weeks [9,[19][20][21][22][23]25,26,28]. Frequency of exercise dosage ranged from three times per week for 30 min per day to seven times per week for 60 min per day [19][20][21]25,26].…”

“…Frequency of exercise dosage ranged from three times per week for 30 min per day to seven times per week for 60 min per day [19][20][21]25,26]. Only three studies included more than 30 participants in at least one intervention group [21,22,28]. To date, all of the exercise intervention studies for NAFLD/NASH are limited by small sample size and insufficient samples size by which to assess improvement in hepatic fibrosis.…”