Relation between Weight History during Adult Period and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Non-obese Men

Lee, Sun Hee; Suh, Young Sung; Kim, Dae Hyun

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)is commonly associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. The main factor of NAFLD is obesity, but the main cause of NAFLD in non-obese subjects has not been clearly revealed. Therefore, this study was to evaluate the relationship between weight history and NAFLD in non-obese men.
METHODS
We enrolled 116 adult non-obese men (body mass index < 25.0 kg/m2) who visited the health promotion center at a university hospital in Daegu. They were either social drinkers or consumed 20 g or less of alcohol/day without chronic liver disease. They were divided into two groups of either NAFLD group or normal liver group.
RESULTS
There were no statistic difference between the groups in terms of age, current body weight, body weight during their early twenties, and body mass index. However, fasting blood sugar, hemoglobin A1C, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, and C-reactive protein were statistically different between the two. The net weight gain, since their early 20's up until the present, among the two groups were compared, The NAFLD group had a history of greater weight gain compared to the normal liver group, 2.3 +/- 3.79 kg and 0.3 +/- 1.97 kg, respectively (P = 0.001).
CONCLUSION
This study shows that non-obese NAFLD men had a greater net weight gain since their twenties compared to the non-obese men with normal liver. Therefore, our data suggest that non-obese NAFLD men may need to loose weight, even though their current body weight may be normal, in order to be healthy.