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

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.