Table 1 Characteristics of the included studies
Study | Design | Enrolled (n) | Participants | Intervention characteristics | Control | Method for NAFLD diagnosis | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical activity type | Sessions per week | Intervention duration (weeks) | ||||||
Sullivan 2012 [14] | monocentre | 18 | Obese adults with NAFLD | Aerobic | 5 times | 16 | Continue current activities of daily living | 1H MRS |
Pugh 2013 [8] | monocentre | 13 | Adults with NAFLD | Aerobic | 3–5 times | 16 | Basic lifestyle advice | Biochemical tests |
Pugh 2014 [15] | monocentre | 31 | Obese adults with NAFLD | Aerobic | 3–5 times | 16 | Conventional care | MRI |
Zelber-Sagi 2014 [16] | monocentre | 82 | Adults with NAFLD | Resistance | 3 times | 12 | Sham exercise (stretching) | Ultrasonography |
Shamsoddini 2015 [17] | monocentre | 30 | Male adults with NAFLD | Aerobic +Resistance | 135 min | 8 | No intervention | Ultrasonography |
Cuthbertson 2016 [18] | monocentre | 69 | Adults with NAFLD | Aerobic | 3 times | 16 | Conventional counselling | MRI |
Shojaee 2016 [19] | monocentre | 27 | Male adults with sedentary lifestyles and NAFLD | Aerobic + Resistance | 4–5 times | 16 | Standard care | Ultrasonography or Liver biopsy |
Zhang 2016 [20] | monocentre | 220 | Obese adults with NAFLD | Aerobic | 150 min | 48 | No intervention | 1H MRS |
Jia 2018 [21] | monocentre | 461 | Adults with NAFLD | Aerobic + Resistance | ≥3 times | 24 | Standard care | Ultrasonography |