The Effect of Running on a Treadmill and Low Calorie Diet on Visfatin and hs-CRP Values in People with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

  Background & objectives:  with Regard to the increasing prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), focusing on various strategies for its prevention and management seem necessary. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of running on treadmill and low calorie diet on visfatin and hs-CRP values in people with NAFLD. Methods: In this quasi-experimental Study, 55 NAFLD patients were selected and randomly assigned to one of four groups: training (n=14), diet (n=14), training plus diet (n=14) and control (n=13). The training program included eight weeks running on a treadmill with maximum heart rate intensity of 55-75% for 45 minutes three times a week. A low calorie diet with an energy deficit of 500 calories of daily energy intake was calculated from 3-day food records of the patients. Combined group subjects also used both types of intervention. Data were analyzed using covariance analysis and Bonferron's post hoc test at a significance level of p<0.05. Results: Visfatin values in the training group (p=0.01), in the combined group (p=0.001) and also hs-CRP values in the training group (p=0.003) and the combined group (p=0.008) decreased significantly. The body mass index of subjects was significantly decreased by training (p=0.003) and combined intervention (p=0.001). Conclusion: Running on treadmill and a low calorie diet simultaneously reduce the plasma levels of visfatin and hs-CRP in male patients with NAFLD. Therefore, these therapeutic interventions are beneficial in reducing NAFLD inflammatory factors.