after 8 weeks, compared with boys on a usual diet.
“Because of growing evidence implicating dietary sugars in NAFLD, well-controlled studies in children with NAFLD are needed to inform clinical practice and public policy,” wrote Jeffrey B. Schwimmer, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, and colleagues in JAMA.
The researchers randomized 40 boys aged 11-16 years with active NAFLD to a diet low in free sugars or their usual diet. The intervention diet involved personalized menu planning and provision of meals for the boys’ entire households that were designed to restrict free sugar intake to less than 3% of daily calories. Adherence to the diet was assessed by twice-weekly phone calls.
In the intervention group, hepatic steatosis decreased from an average of 25% at baseline to 17% after 8 weeks, compared with a change from 21% to 20% in the control group. The adjusted mean difference at 8 weeks was −6.23%, which was statistically significant (P less than .001).
The average age of the participants was 13 years, 95% were Hispanic. All 40 completed the study, and 18 of the 20 boys in the intervention group reported less than 3% of calories from free sugar during the study period. No adverse events were reported related to study participation.
The results were limited by several factors, including the small sample size and homogeneous population. In addition, neither hepatic steatosis or serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels decreased enough to enter the normal range, the researchers noted. The findings, though preliminary, support the value of reducing free sugars, including glucose, fructose, and sucrose, to help manage NAFLD in adolescents, and “further research is required to assess long-term and clinical outcomes,” they said.
The study was supported by grants from multiple foundations and organizations, including the Nutrition Science Initiative, the University of California, San Diego, the National Institutes of Health, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Pediatric Biostatistics Core, and the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance. Dr. Schwimmer reported receiving research support from Galmed and Intercept.
SOURCE: Schwimmer JB et al. JAMA. 2019;321(3):256-265.
