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Lifestyle Interventions Including Nutrition, Exercise, and Supplements for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children.

Digestive diseases and sciences
May 1, 2016
Jonathan A Africa et al. (3 authors)
Journal ArticleResearch Support, N.I.H., ExtramuralReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to evaluate the potential effects of lifestyle interventions (diet and exercise) and dietary supplements, including alanine-related outcomes, on pediatric NAFLD.

Results Summary

The study found that lifestyle interventions (diet and exercise) may improve serum alanine aminotransferase activity and liver fat fraction, but no specific dietary approach was superior. Dietary supplements like vitamin E, fish oil, and probiotics showed inconsistent effects.

Population

Children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), particularly those who are obese.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (7)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
weight loss
decrease
NAFLD
children who are obese and have NAFLD
-
may have a beneficial effect
#1
exercise
decrease
NAFLD
-
-
is widely believed to improve
#2
combination of diet and exercise
decrease
serum alanine aminotransferase activity
-
-
suggest a potential for improvement in
#3
combination of diet and exercise
decrease
magnetic resonance imaging liver fat fraction
-
-
suggest a potential for improvement in
#4
vitamin E
no change
-
children
-
have shown inconsistent effects
#5
fish oil
no change
-
children
-
have shown inconsistent effects
#6
probiotics
no change
-
children
-
have shown inconsistent effects
#7
Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of liver disease among children. Lifestyle interventions, such as diet and exercise, are frequently recommended. Children with NAFLD have a distinct physiology that is different from obesity alone and has the potential to influence lifestyle treatments. Studies of diet alone in the treatment of pediatric NAFLD have focused on sugar and carbohydrate, but did not indicate any one dietary approach that was superior to another. For children who are obese and have NAFLD, weight loss may have a beneficial effect regardless of the diet used. Exercise is widely believed to improve NAFLD because a sedentary lifestyle, poor aerobic fitness, and low muscle mass are all risk factors for NAFLD. However, there have been no randomized controlled trials of exercise as a treatment for children with NAFLD. Studies of the combination of diet and exercise suggest a potential for improvement in serum alanine aminotransferase activity and/or magnetic resonance imaging liver fat fraction with intervention. There is also enthusiasm for the use of dietary supplements; however, studies in children have shown inconsistent effects of vitamin E, fish oil, and probiotics. This review presents the available data from studies of lifestyle intervention and dietary supplements published to date and highlights challenges that must be addressed in order to advance the evidence base for the treatment of pediatric NAFLD.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
ChildDietDietary SupplementsExerciseHumansLife StyleNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy65/10
Quality70/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations66
Citations/Year7.3
Relative Citation Ratio3.07
NIH Percentile85.5%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.95
Weight Score1.87
Normalized Score0.60
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