The Effect of a Conventional Resistance Training Course on Some of the Inflammatory Factors in Obese Men with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NFALD) is a disease associated with metabolic syndrome. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of a resistance training course on interleukin-17 (IL-17) levels, 70 kDa thermal shock protein (HSP70), insulin resistance, serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in obese men with NFALD. In this semi-experimental study, 30 obese men with NFALD were selected through targeted sampling and they were randomly divided into one of two groups of intervention group (age = 41.28 ± 3.88 y, body mass index (BMI) = 33.92 ± 1.30 kg/m2) and control group (age = 42.90 ± 4.20 y, BMI = 32.86 ± 1.07 kg/m2). The training program included 12 weeks of resistive training and 3 training sessions per week. Before eating breakfast, blood samples were collected one day before the start of the training and 3 days after the last training session. The t-test was used for statistical analysis (P ≤ 0.05). After the training course, a significant decrease was observed in body weight compared with the control group (P = 0.016), BMI (P = 0.015), body fat percentage (P = 0.009), insulin resistance (P < 0.001), HSP70 (P = 0.001), IL-17 (P = 0.001), and serum levels of ALT (P = 0.004) and AST (P = 0.032). It seems that resistance training has an effective role in improving the liver function in patients with NFALD by reducing insulin resistance and the levels of inflammatory cytokines, this method of resistance training may be useful in the treatment of these patients.