BHUBANESWAR: Not expensive medications, just a brisk 5-km daily walk and half-plate meal at lunch-dinner can significantly reverse nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) within a short period, a landmark study from Odisha has established.
While NAFLD, a major precursor of serious diseases like liver cancer and cirrhosis, has emerged a leading public health problem in the country over the recent years, the study has challenged the growing dependence on medications for its treatment.
Led by eminent gastroenterologist and former head of gastroenterology department at SCB MCH, Cuttack, Prof SP Singh, the team of researchers from various medical institutes in the country have demonstrated that a very simple combination of reduced diet and increased physical activity, particularly walking, can reverse NAFLD substantially.
Conducted at the Kalinga Gastroenterology Foundation, the study followed 565 NAFLD patients over a one-year period. Majority of them were from rural areas and consumed high calorific diet. Around one-fifth of them had pre-existing type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The advice of the study team was simple: reduce dietary intake by 50 per cent and walk 5 km per day. The patients were followed up monthly and contacted weekly to ensure compliance.
At the end of the year, the results were striking. As high as 85.2 per cent of the participants had lost weight with mean BMI reducing from 26.08 to 25.06. Liver stiffness decreased in nearly 68 per cent of the patients. A two-point reduction in liver stiffness was marked in 52 per cent, while one-stage reversal in liver fibrosis was observed in 40.5 per cent. Around 16.4 per cent of the patients also marked complete resolution of fatty liver. Improvements were also seen in fasting glucose, cholesterol levels, liver enzymes and insulin resistance.
Lead author Prof Singh said, NAFLD affects nearly one in three Indians and closely linked with obesity, type 2 diabetes and sedentary lifestyles. Apart from causing serious liver diseases, it is also strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and chronic kidney disease.
He described the findings as “a wake-up call” for both doctors and patients. “This important real-world study has blown the lid off the myth perpetuated by the pharmaceutical companies that only medicines work and lifestyle interventions lack significant benefits. It has also proved the notion that lifestyle changes have low adherence. Our study achieved a remarkable 72.8 per cent adherence rate,” he said.
The team comprised Dr Prajna Anirban, Dr Swati Chouhan, Dr Manas Panigrahi, Dr Chitta R Khatua, Dr Samir Hota, Dr Mitali Rath, Dr Sanjib Kar, Dr Bijay Mishra, Dr Saroj Sahu, Dr Jimmy Narayan and Dr Ayaskanta Singh.