Background and Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common hepatic disorder in industrial societies with a prevalence ranging within 15-35% in the European and Middle Eastern populations. This disease is one of the most important causes of mortality due to hepatic diseases. Regarding this, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a six-week combined aerobic and resistance training on some liver function parameters in the middle-aged men with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 16 middle-aged men with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (mean age: 36.62±6.5 years, weight: 85.48±5.43 kg, body mass index [BMI]: 28.75±1.30 kg/m²). The study population was randomly assigned into two groups of exercise training and control. The exercise training group was subjected to six weeks of combined aerobic and resistance training performed three sessions a week. Body weight, BMI, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level, liver ultrasound parameters, peak oxygen uptake (VO₂ max), waist-hip ratio, and body fat percentage were assessed before the intervention and six weeks post-intervention. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of covariance.
Results: In the exercise group, despite observing no significant changes in the ALT and liver ultrasound parameters, there were significant improvements in the body weight, BMI, AST, VO₂ max, waist-hip ratio, and body fat percentage after six weeks of exercise training (P<0.05). However, the control group showed no significantly differences regarding these variables after the intervention.
Conclusion: As the findings of the present study indicated, a six-week exercise training by improving some liver enzymes and body composition probably can be an appropriate treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the middle-age men.