The world is witnessing a surge in the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Weight loss remains the key to its management, but the optimal characteristics of the diet remain unclear. A study on overweight or obese subjects with NAFLD assessed the effects of two personalized energy-restricted diets on the liver status, after a 6 months follow-up. 

The study enrolled 98 individuals from the Fatty Liver in Obesity (FLiO) study and randomized them into two groups who were given different energy-restricted diets. 

The participants were subjected to Diet, anthropometry, body composition, and biochemical parameters evaluation at baseline and after 6 months. The liver assessment was done using ultrasonography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, elastography, and determination of transaminases. 

The observation of the study was as follows-

• Metabolic and hepatic markers improved significantly after the intervention in both the groups similarly. 
• Weight loss, adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet), were proven to be related to a decrease in liver fat content, foretelling up to 40.9% of its variability after 6 months, by Multivariate regression models. 
• An inverse relation between the antioxidant capacity of the diet and liver fat content was found. 
• A greater reduction in body weight, total fat mass and hepatic fat was found in the group with higher adherence to the MedDiet. 

Thus, the energy-restricted diets, high adherence to the MedDiet, and high antioxidant capacity of the diet help a great deal in managing NAFLD in individuals with overweight or obesity.

Source- Nutrients. 2019; 11(10):2543. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102543