Non-pharmacological interventions in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients.

Abstract

Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease have unhealthy diets, sedentary behaviour and not enough physical activity. This lifestyle triggers liver disease and probably favours its progression. It also has significant deleterious effects on health and longevity and should therefore be corrected by first-line therapy at all stages of the disease. However, important questions remain: is weight loss alone beneficial or do particular diets have beneficial effects beyond weight loss? Which specific micro- or macronutrients are clearly harmful? Does exercise without weight loss improve hepatic histology and what type of exercise is optimal? Does moderate or only vigorous exercise have metabolic and hepatic benefits? What is the efficacy of lifestyle measures outside of clinical trials? And most importantly, what is the turning point in the natural history of liver disease when non-pharmacological measures should be combined with drug therapy?