co-treatment with vitamin d supplementation and aerobic training in elderly women with vit d deficiency and nafld: a single-blind controlled trial

Background: lifestyle intervention is considered first-line therapy for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (nafl). objectives: here, we aimed to compare the effect of combined aerobic training (at) and vitamin d (vit d) supplementation on nafld in elderly women with vit d deficiency. methods: we recruited 40 women (60 - 65 years) with nafld (second or third grade) and vit d deficiency. then, using simple randomization, the subjects were assigned to four groups including aerobic training (at; 60% - 75%, 20 - 40 min/day, 3 days/wk running and walking), vitamin d supplementation (vit d; 50,000 iu one day/week), aerobic training plus vitamin d supplementation (at + vit d), and sedentary control (c; placebo). the data were analyzed using paired t-test and one-way analysis of variance and tukey’s post hoc test with spss21 at a significance level of p < 0.05. results: after eight weeks of intervention, fatty liver grade markedly reduced in the at + vit d, at, and vit d groups (60%, 38.88%, and 22% respectively). however, it increased by 17.60% in the control group. the combination of at + vit d significantly reduced liver enzymes, anthropometric indices, and glycemic indices and improved lipid profile. all groups demonstrated a significant inverse correlation between vitamin d and fatty liver grade. conclusions: a sedentary lifestyle and vit d deficiency accelerate the nafld probably by deteriorating hepatic risk factors. additionally, adequate levels of plasma vitamin d are necessary to achieve the beneficial metabolic effects of aerobic training.