Effect of weight reduction diet on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of liver dysfunction worldwide. There is no effective specific therapy for NAFLD. The most acceptable strategy in the management of these patients is the use of diet to decrease body weight. Since there is no consensus on the specifics of weight loss for management of NAFLD، this study evaluated the effects of weight loss on NAFLD characteristics. Fifty patients with NAFLD received a diet consisting of a reduction of 500 to 1000 kcal/d for 6 mo. Anthropometric parameters، liver enzymes، dietary intake، and physical activity were measured at the beginning and after 3 and 6 mo. Lipid profile، malondialdehyde (MDA)، TNF-α، IL-6، cytokeratin 18 (CK18) -M30 were measured at baseline and at the end of the study. At the end of follow up، patients were classified as adherent or non-adherent to treatment according to a weight loss of ≥5% or < 5% of initial body weight، respectively. Forty-four patients completed the study protocol. Twenty-five patients were classified as adherent and nineteen as non-adherent (9. 7% vs. 1. 9% total body weight loss after 6 mo، respectively). After 6 mo، changes in the adherent and non-adherent groups were found for reduction in body weight (p< 0. 05)، BMI (p<0. 001) and waist circumference from (p<0. 001). Diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly for the adherent group (p<0. 001). Also، total cholesterol (p=0. 004)، LDL (p=0. 007)، triglycerides (p=0. 035)، ALT (p<0. 001)، AST (p<0. 001)، GGT (p<0. 001) and CK18-M30 (p=0. 003) levels decreased significantly in the adherent group over the non-adherent group. The results suggest that exclusive dietary intervention is a first line of management for NAFLD.