Exercise doesn’t just improve your body’s appearance; it can also help you look better from the inside out. If you want to slim down your midsection, burning fat in your liver could be just as important as melting away fat around your abs. Why is trimming liver fat so important?
Modern civilization is wrestling with an epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It’s a condition that occurs when there’s an excess buildup of fat in the liver, and it’s becoming increasingly common in the general population. Worldwide, 25% of people have excess liver fat, enough to potentially cause health issues.
NAFLD is often associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, which are both on the rise in today’s society. Plus, NAFLD leads to inflammation and scarring of the liver, which can cause serious health problems, including liver failure and liver cancer.
The good news is that NAFLD is largely preventable and treatable. Making lifestyle changes, such as exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining a healthy weight is the key to maintaining a healthy liver.
The Role Exercise Plays in Reducing Liver Fat
While many studies show that exercise can have a positive impact on liver health, the optimal amount of exercise needed for specific improvements was unknown. That is, until now.
In a new study, researchers looked at 14 randomized controlled trials with a total of 551 people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). They considered a 30% reduction in liver fat, as measured by MRI scans, to be a meaningful improvement.
The results were impressive. Exercise was 3.5 times more likely to achieve this 30% reduction in liver fat compared to standard care, regardless of weight loss. But the researchers didn’t stop there. They wanted to know the optimal dose of exercise needed to get these improvements.
The answer? People who exercised briskly for 150 minutes or more per week saw the most significant treatment response, with 39% achieving a significant reduction in liver fat compared to 26% of those who exercised less.
So, what does this mean for you? According to lead author Dr. Tracey G. Simon, “There’s more and more evidence that exercise, even if you don’t lose a single pound, has many beneficial effects. In fact, the reductions in liver fat seen in this study were like those reported in early-phase drug trials for those with “NASH,” a condition involving inflammation, liver damage, and fat in the liver, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
So, whether you’re looking to lose weight or simply improve your overall health, it’s clear that exercise should be a key part of your lifestyle. And with the knowledge that just 150 minutes of brisk exercise per week can have such a significant impact on liver health, there’s no better time to start incorporating more physical activity into your life.
How Does Exercise Reduce Liver Fat?
Exercise works to reduce liver fat in a few different ways. First, it increases the number of fatty acids that your body breaks down to use for energy. That’s less fat available for the liver to store. At the same time, exercise decreases the amount of new fatty acids that are created in the liver, which can lead to a reduction in the overall amount of fat.
Plus, exercise improves the way your body uses insulin, which reduces the amount of fat and glucose that goes to the liver. Exercise also helps the liver by reducing damage and preventing the release of harmful substances.
Does Resistance Training Reduce Liver Fat Too?
Aerobic exercise is the type of exercise healthcare providers recommend to reduce body fat and liver fat. But can resistance training lower liver fat too? In a study published in Hepatology, researchers looked at 31 sedentary adults with type 2 diabetes and NAFLD.
The participants were randomly assigned to either aerobic (AER) or resistance (RES) training for four months. Before and after the exercise intervention, researchers measured their insulin sensitivity, body composition, and levels of hepatic fat content and various types of abdominal fat using imaging techniques.
The results showed that both the aerobic and resistance training groups experienced a significant reduction in hepatic fat content. Additionally, both groups saw improvements in insulin sensitivity and reductions in total body fat mass, visceral fat, subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue, and hemoglobin A1c.
This study is the first to show that both resistance and aerobic training are equally effective at reducing hepatic fat content in people with type 2 diabetes and NAFLD. Why is this important? It provides evidence that you have multiple options for improving your liver health through exercise. If you enjoy resistance training more than aerobic exercise, you can still reduce liver fat and your risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Conclusion
Now you have another reason to exercise – it’s beneficial for your liver. Through exercise, you can lower your risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and even reverse this common condition. Why is that important? There’s no current medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat this condition. So, weight loss and exercise are the best treatments we have.
Why are lifestyle changes so important? NAFLD can lead to a more serious form called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which can cause liver failure and cancer. So, starting an exercise program can help you avoid some of the more serious effects of this common type of fatty liver.
References:
- 2023. “Exercise Can Help Shed Dangerous Fat around the Liver.” US News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report. 2023. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-02-13/exercise-can-help-shed-dangerous-fat-around-the-liver.
- “Liver Disease: How 150 Minutes of Exercise a Week Can Reduce Risks.” 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.healthline.com/health-news/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease-how-150-minutes-of-exercise-a-week-can-help.
- “Aerobic exercise could have the final say on fatty livers.” 29 Jul. 2020, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200729114728.htm.
- Bacchi E, Negri C, Targher G, Faccioli N, Lanza M, Zoppini G, Zanolin E, Schena F, Bonora E, Moghetti P. Both resistance training and aerobic training reduce hepatic fat content in type 2 diabetic subjects with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (the RAED2 Randomized Trial). Hepatology. 2013 Oct;58(4):1287-95. doi: 10.1002/hep.26393. Epub 2013 Aug 22. PMID: 23504926.
- van der Windt DJ, Sud V, Zhang H, Tsung A, Huang H. The Effects of Physical Exercise on Fatty Liver Disease. Gene Expr. 2018 May 18;18(2):89-101. doi: 10.3727/105221617X15124844266408. Epub 2017 Dec 6. PMID: 29212576; PMCID: PMC5954622.
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