Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity may minimize risk of liver diseases

Attaining certain levels of weekly exercise may help reduce the risk of liver diseases.

In a study published in BMC Medicine, investigators used UK Biobank data to examine the outcomes of 88,656 participants aged 37 to 73 years who wore wrist accelerometers for one week between 2013 and 2015. The participants were divided into three groups on the basis of their exercise habits: less than 150 minutes per week (inactive); 150 minutes or more of exercise per week (active regular) and 150 minutes or more of exercise per week, with at least 50% of the exercise occurring within one to two days (active weekend warrior).

After a follow-up of 6.8 years, the investigators identified an association between 150 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week and a lower risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease compared with the participants in the inactive group — regardless of whether the activity was concentrated on the weekends or spread throughout the week.

Further, those in active regular and active weekend warrior groups also experienced protection against severe liver diseases, liver cirrhosis, liver steatosis and fibrosis.

Read more: BMC Medicine

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