A cellular mechanism by which aerobic physical activity improves fatty liver health has been identified, they report Corriere della Sera.
Movement saves the liver. Literally: aerobic exercise improves the condition of fatty liver, the most common liver disease in the world, which affects one in three adults today.
The benefit exists regardless of the effects of exercise on the scale: even if the weight doesn’t drop, exercise has positive effects on mitochondria, the cells’ tiny “powerhouses,” and reduces fat accumulation in the liver. This was demonstrated by a mouse study recently published in the journal Metabolism and is also confirmed by human studies.
The new animal study builds on new knowledge about non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, recently renamed “metabolic dysfunction steatosis-associated liver disease” precisely to emphasize how closely it is linked to metabolic problems such as obesity and diabetes.
As Anna Ludovica Fracanzani, professor of internal medicine at the University of Milan, explains, “research has studied the mechanisms by which liver damage develops, assessing the role of alterations in glucose and lipid metabolism and, more recently, mitochondrial metabolism. It has been found that liver function gradually decreases due to mitochondrial dysfunction, which makes the liver no longer able to transfer excess lipid droplets outside the organ: one of the characteristics of fatty liver disease is precisely the high concentration of lipid droplets that accumulate in the cells hepatic. Therefore, the goal is to find a way to regulate mitochondrial function to treat steatosis.”
In the new animal study, it was shown that one of the means to achieve this could be exercise, because, as Fracanzani points out, “aerobic exercise has shown beneficial effects by helping to metabolize fat.”
The research provides answers to the mechanisms by which physical activity “heals” fatty liver, confirming what has also been observed in humans.
“Exercise reduces diet-induced steatosis and liver fibrosis, and the effect on steatosis is evident regardless of the weight loss that can be achieved,” summarizes Fracanzani, “Even those who are of normal weight can actually have a liver fat due to incorrect food choices, and exercise is therefore essential. In addition, vigorous activity also reduces disease severity and the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, hepatic, and cancer mortality, which is higher in adults with steatosis. This is why, today, all patients with hepatic steatosis are recommended at least 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous intensity: the “dose” and recommendations must, however, be scaled in each individual case , because those who are very sedentary can get scared and throw in the towel in front of similar indications. It is important to realize that there are no excuses: anyone, at any age or in any condition, can exercise, even just walking. Physical activity is indispensable for the well-being of the liver, to prevent and treat hepatic steatosis: therefore, lifestyle change, together with diet and exercise, remains the cornerstone of the treatment of this disease”, concludes the expert.
2024-02-17 19:31:04
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