Too Much Fast Food And Too Little Exercise Harm The Liver

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Too Much Fast Food And Too Little Exercise Harm The Liver

ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2008) — Too much fast food and too little exercise can

harm the liver, reveals a small study in the journal Gut. The findings are based

on 18 slim, healthy people (12 men and six women) who took a “fast food

challenge” for four weeks, and a comparison group, matched for age and sex, who

ate a normal diet.

The fast good group restricted their levels of physical activity to not more

than 5000 daily steps and ate at least two fast food meals, preferably in well

known outlets, every day.

The aim was to double calorific intake and increase total body weight by between

10% and 15% to see if these had any impact on their liver health.

Blood samples were taken before the challenge began and then at regular

intervals throughout the study period, to check on their liver enzyme and fat

levels.

Liver damage is often identified by symptomless increases in enzymes, of which

alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is one.

Usually, higher than normal ALT levels are found in people who regularly drink

large amounts of alcohol or who have been infected with the hepatitis C virus.

But in a significant proportion of people, there is no obvious explanation.

Too much fat in the liver also indicates damage, and is known as “fatty liver.”

At the end of the four weeks, those in the fast food group had put on an average

of 6.5 kg. Five increased their weight by 15%, and one person put on an extra 12

kg in just two weeks.

Sharp increases in ALT occurred after just one week on the fast food diet, and

more than quadrupled from an average of 22 U/l to of 97 U/l over the entire

period.

In 11 people ALT rose to levels indicative of liver damage. The increases were

linked to weight gain and especially higher sugar and carbohydrate intake.

Only one participant developed “fatty liver,” but test results from the other

participants showed a steep rise in fat content in their liver cells, which is

associated with insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is associated with the metabolic syndrome, a collection of

biochemical abnormalities which are linked to an increased risk of diabetes and

cardiovascular disease.

No such changes were seen among those who continued to eat their normal diet.

Journal reference: Fast-food based hyper-alimentation can induce rapid and

profound elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase in healthy subjects Online

First Gut 2008; doi: 10.11.36/gt131797

Adapted from materials provided by British Medical Journal, via Newswise.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080217222513.htm

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