A study conducted by nutrition researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the United States on 80 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease found that those who followed the overnight fasting and exercise could improve their health. The research results were published in the recent journal Cell Metabolism. Researchers reported that people who exercised and fasted every other day (one day without restriction, and the next day with 500 calories or less) increased insulin sensitivity, decreased liver fat, decreased body weight, and decreased ALT (alanine transaminase) for three months. About 65% of obese adults suffer from nonalcoholic fatty liver, which is closely related to the development of insulin resistance and type II diabetes. If not controlled, fatty liver disease will lead to more serious complications, such as cirrhosis or liver failure. Participants in the clinical trial were randomly assigned to one of four groups: fasting group, aerobic exercise group, combination group and control group. The participants in the diet group were tracked their food intake. The participants in the exercise group used the elliptical machine for one hour every day, five days a week. The study found that people who only diet or exercise did not see the same improvement, which strengthened the importance of these two relatively cheap lifestyles for overall health and the fight against chronic diseases such as fatty liver. In addition to seeing the improvement of metabolic indicators, the study also found that no serious safety events occurred during the trial. Researchers said that this is the first study to investigate the effect of intermittent fasting combined with exercise on the prognosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Compared with the control group, the combined intervention is effective in reducing the weight, fat mass, waist circumference, alanine transaminase, fasting insulin, insulin resistance and increasing insulin sensitivity of obese and nonalcoholic fatty liver patients. (Xinhua News Agency)