The Effect of High-Fat Diet and Exercise on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Glycemic Control

This study investigates the effects of chronic high-fat diet (HFD) and endurance training on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and glycemic control. Here we report that chronic HFD promotes hepatic steatosis to an extent, which impairs whole body glucose metabolism. Moreover, we illustrate the effectiveness of exercise in attenuating HFD-induced NAFLD. In addition to NAFLD treatment, exercise improves whole body glycemic control and insulin sensitivity. Measures of gluconeogenic markers indicate a reduction in gluconeogenesis (GNG) to be partially attributable to the improved glucose regulation. Importantly, we present the novel finding that chronic endurance exercise reduces the rate of hepatic glycogen synthesis despite improvements in glycemia. Thus, it appears glucose has alternate metabolic fates in the body which forces mobilization rather than storage of glucose in a trained system. Taken together, it appears exercise is an effective therapeutic tool, which can significantly improve the deleterious effects of chronic HF-feeding.