Physical activity

Combine balanced diet and sport!

Exercise and burn calories! Physical activity keeps you healthy and reduces the level of fat in the liver(1).

Being overweight cause non-negligible risks: high blood pressure, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes type 2 or diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, musculoskeletal disorders (in particular osteoarthritis) or some cancers (endometrial, breast, colon,).

What is the difference between overweight and obesity? Both are determined by Body Mass Index (BMI). Overweight is an unbalance between intake and expenditure of energy while obesity is a chronic disease.

Similarly, it is important to differentiate lean mass and fat mass. Lean mass is the weight of muscles, organs and viscera while fat mass is the body fat also called adipose tissue.

Note that a large waistline is the sign of an accumulation of fat in the liver. Therefore, patients at risk for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis can be at risk even without general obesity and with a waistline of over 94 cm for men and of over 80cm for women (2).

You may want to return to the sport after a long period of activity. Several measures are therefore necessary:

  • Check with your general practitioner beforehand.
  • If you go back to sport, practice familiar physical activities. It would be too early to start a new sport!
  • Be aware that stretching is very important, even more so if you have not practiced for some time.
  • A heating of 15 to 20 minutes is recommended.
  • Do not push yourself to the end, and stop if you feel signs of fatigue.
  • Adopt healthy eating habits.

For more details, do not hesitate to consult our article on this subject.

Important: Please note that a sports practice may be contraindicated in the case of liver disease, such as viral hepatitis, for example: sports activities are not recommended for two months. Recovery of the sport can only be done on conclusive blood tests (3).

  1. (1) Hallsworth K, Fattakhova G, Hollingsworth KG, et al. Resistance exercise reduces liver fat and its mediators in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease independent of weight loss. Gut 2011;60:1278-83.
  2. (2) Alberti GK, Eckel RH, Grundy SM et coll. Harmonizing the Metabolic Syndrome. A Joint Interim Statement of the International Diabetes Federation Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention; National Heart Lung and Blood Institute; American Heart Association; World Heart Federation; International Atherosclerosis Society; and International Association for the Study of Obesity. Circulation 2009;120:1640-5.
  3. http://www.docteurclic.com/encyclopedie/contre-indications-au-sport.aspx