Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to an accumulation of fat in the liver of people who consume little or no alcohol.
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Yet the associations were still present even if patients who spent large portions of their days seated participated in high levels of moderate to vigorous exercise and sitting has since been labelled as “the new smoking”, although the relationship between sitting and NAFLD remained unexplored until now.
Currently, the average person spends more than half of their day involved in sedentary activities, such as watching television or sitting using a computer or other electronic device.
Records of approximately 140,000 Koreans were studied as part of the research. They found that both decreased rates of physical activity and extended periods of sitting down were linked with increased rates of NAFLD.
According to Dr. Seungho Ryu, the study’s lead author, most of the participants were in good health, which discredits the likelihood that the disease developed from health complications unrelated to a sedentary lifestyle.
The study shows that people who sit for ten hours a day or more have a nine percent greater risk for developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease when compared to those who spent less than five hours sitting in any given day. The information about their sitting time was derived from a short-form questionnaire that inquired about their level of physical activity. The condition can lead to swelling and scarring of the liver, according to the American Liver Foundation. Prolonged sitting has already been previously associated with increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Sedentary behavior can increase the risk of insulin resistance and can lower cardiovascular function, he wrote.
Importantly, associations between sedentary lifestyle and NAFLD were not limited to the overweight and obese: Even people with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 23 were textbook cases.
“The message is clear: Our chairs are slowly but surely killing us”, said Michael Trenell, Professor of Metabolism & Lifestyle Medicine at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, in the press release.
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“What remains less certain is the effect of sedentary behavior on the liver”, he said. “The challenge for us now is to “stand up” and move for NAFLD, both physically and metaphorically”, Professor Trenell added.
