Walking for just ten minutes a day can cut the risk of developing fatty liver disease, which affects up to one in three adults.
The build-up of dangerous fat in the organ is usually triggered by an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle.
Rates of the disease – which can significantly increase the risk of liver cancer – have risen in the UK due to soaring obesity levels.
In a new study, scientists from the University of Oxford followed more than 91,000 people to see if daily activity levels were related to their chances of fat accumulating in the liver.
Volunteers wore a wrist device for seven days to measure the number of steps they took.
The study, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, showed the more they walked, the less likely they were to develop the potentially fatal condition.
For every 1,000 steps – or approximately 10 minutes of movement – the chances of getting fatty liver dropped by around 12 per cent, researchers found.
Although it’s common, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease can be hard to detect, as there are few external signs of it and no obvious symptoms during the early stages.
Walking for just ten minutes a day can cut the risk of developing fatty liver disease, which affects up to one in three adults. Pictured: File photo
The build-up of dangerous fat in the organ is usually triggered by an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. Pictured: File photo
Rates of the disease – which can significantly increase the risk of liver cancer – have risen in the UK due to soaring obesity levels. Pictured: File photo
A healthy liver should contain no fat at all and most people with the condition have no idea they are affected.
While it’s linked to obesity, some sufferers can be slim but with hidden fat deposits in and around the liver.
Previous studies have found the disease can be stopped in its tracks by losing around 10 per cent of body weight.
