Physical exercise antagonizes clinical and anatomical features characterizing Lieber-DeCarli diet-induced obesity and related metabolic disorders

Summary Background & aims Lieber-DeCarli diet has been used to induce obesity and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). As scarce anatomical and clinical-related information on this diet model exists and being exercise an advised strategy to counteract metabolic diseases, we aimed to analyze the preventive (voluntary physical activity – VPA) and therapeutic (endurance training – ET) effect of exercise on clinical/anatomical features of rats fed with Lieber-DeCarli diet. Methods In the beginning of the protocol, Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into standard-diet sedentary (SS, n  = 20), standard-diet VPA (SVPA, n  = 10), high-fat diet sedentary (HS, n  = 20) and high-fat diet VPA (HVPA, n  = 10) groups. After 9-weeks, half ( n  = 10) of SS and HS groups were engaged in an ET program (8 wks/5 d/wk/60 min/day). At this time, a blood sample was collected for biochemical analysis. At the end of protocol (17-weeks) anatomic measures were assessed. Heart, liver, femur and visceral fat were weighted and blood was collected again. Liver section was used for histopathological examination. Results At 17-weeks, high-fat diet increased visceral adiposity (HS vs. SS), which was counteracted by both exercises. However, ET was the only intervention able to diminished obesity-related measures and the histological features of NASH. Moreover, blood analysis at 9 weeks showed that high-fat diet increased ALT, AST, cholesterol and HDL while VLDL and TG levels were decreased (HS vs. SS). Notably, although these parameters were counteracted after 9-weeks of VPA, they were transitory and not observed after 17-weeks. Conclusions ET used as a therapeutic tool mitigated the clinical/anatomical-related features induced by Liber-DeCarli diet, thus possibly contributing to control obesity and metabolic disorders.