Exercise training is crucial in managing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but its ability to significantly improve liver fat remains uncertain. For a study, researchers sought to investigate the association between exercise training and the attainment of validated thresholds for MRI-measured treatment response.
Through March 2022, randomized controlled trials involving adults with NAFLD were identified. Exercise training was compared with no exercise training, and the primary outcome was achieving a ≥30% relative reduction in MRI-measured liver fat—a threshold indicative of histologic improvement in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis activity, resolution of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and liver fibrosis stage. Different exercise doses were also compared.