Fatty liver disease is a condition where there is an excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, which may affect the work of the liver. There are several factors that can increase the risk of fatty liver, one of which is excessive alcohol consumption. In addition, health problems such as obesity, diabetes, malnutrition, and metabolic syndrome can also be other factors that cause this disease.

The symptoms commonly experienced by patients include fatigue, loss of appetite, stomach pain, yellow skin or eyes, and abnormal bleeding. To reduce the risk of fatty liver, living a healthy lifestyle and diet can be one way. Patients with fatty liver will usually be advised to lose weight in order to reduce fat in the body. In addition to maintaining a healthy diet, diligent exercise can also help reduce this risk, even more effectively than a healthy diet.

According to a recent study published in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, researchers found that exercise, especially aerobics, was more effective in helping treat fatty liver symptoms associated with metabolic syndrome. These results were obtained after analysing 24 metabolic-related fatty liver patients, each of whom was asked to do aerobic exercise for 12 weeks. To determine the effectiveness of this method, the researchers conducted a biopsy on each patient to see the condition of the liver.

As a result, aerobic exercise was shownto help improve the liver condition, even in the absence of significant weight loss. The results of the biopsy showed that the condition of the liver had improved along with the improvement in fitness. Researchers explained that physical exercise could have a positive impact on both the patient's liver and cardiometabolic condition.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Getty Images

Source(s):

• O'Gorman, P., Naimimohasses, S., Monaghan, A., et al (2020). Improvement in histological endpoints of MAFLD following a 12-week aerobic exercise intervention. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15989.
• Science Daily - Aerobic exercise could have the final say on fatty livers (2020). https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200729114728.htm, 04 August 2020.