Although lifestyle interventions are considered the first-line therapy for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is extremely common in people with type 2 diabetes, no intervention studies have compared the effects of aerobic (AER) or resistance (RES) training on hepatic fat content in type 2 diabetic subjects with NAFLD. In this randomized controlled trial, we compared the 4-month effects of either AER or RES training on insulin sensitivity (by hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp), body composition (by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), as well as hepatic fat content and visceral (VAT), superficial (SSAT), and deep (DSAT) subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (all quantified by an in-opposed-phase magnetic resonance imaging technique) in 31 sedentary adults with type 2 diabetes and NAFLD. After training, hepatic fat content was markedly reduced (P < 0.001), to a similar extent, in both the AER and the RES training groups (mean relative reduction from baseline [95% confidence interval] 232.8% [258.20 to 27.52] versus 225.9% [250.92 to 20.94], respectively). Additionally, hepatic steatosis (defined as hepatic fat content >5.56%) disappeared in about one-quarter of the patients in each intervention group (23.1% in the AER group and 23.5% in the RES group). Insulin sensitivity during euglycemic clamp was increased, whereas total body fat mass, VAT, SSAT, and hemoglobin A1c were reduced comparably in both intervention groups. Conclusion: This is the first randomized controlled study to demonstrate that resistance training and aerobic training are equally effective in reducing hepatic fat content among type 2 diabetic patients with NAFLD. (HEPATOLOGY 2013;58:1287-1295
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