Effect of Eight Weeks of Compound Exercises on Human Body in Obese Males with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease with Emphasis on Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene Polymorphism

Background and purpose: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disorder in the world. Genetic factors are believed to be associated with development of NAFLD. This research aimed at studying the effect of eight weeks of compound exercises (aerobic and resistance) on human body with three genotypes (TT, CT, CC) of C677T polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene. Materials and methods: In this semi-experimental study, human body of grade 1 NAFLD subjects (N=60) were studied in six groups (3 control groups and 3 experimental groups) with three genotypes (TT, CT, CC) for eight weeks. The participants were obese males aged 30-40 years old (BMI= 30-35 kg/m2). Data analysis was carried out in SPSS V19 applying repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: The study showed significant decrease in BMI at the end of 8 weeks of training protocol in TT genotype group compared to those with CT (P= 0.031) and CC (P= 0.023) genotypes. Also, visceral fat showed significant decrease in group with TT genotype compared to the groups with CT genotype (P= 0.039) and CC genotype (P= 0.034) and in CT genotype group compared to CC genotype group (P= 0.046). A decreasing trend was observed in all groups in waist to hip ratio, although the decrease was not significant among the genotypic groups. Conclusion: Training protocol resulted in BMI reduction which was found to be higher in TT genotype compared to CT and CC genotypes. Reduced visceral fat after these exercises along with lower BMI could cause improvements in liver function in patients with NAFLD.