Background

The prevalence and severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) increase in women after menopause. This narrative review discusses the causes and consequences of NAFLD in postmenopausal women and describes how physical activity can contribute to its prevention.

Methods

The authors followed the narrative review method to perform a critical and objective analysis of the current knowledge on the topic. The Medical Subject Heading keywords ‘physical exercise’, ‘menopause’, ‘hormone replacement therapy, ‘estradiol’, ‘NAFLD’ were used to establish a conceptual framework. The databases used to collect relevant references included Medline and specialized high-impact journals.

Results

Higher visceral adiposity, higher rate of lipolysis in adipose tissue after estrogen drop, and changes in the expression of housekeeping proteins involved in hepatic lipid management are observed in women after menopause, contributing to NAFLD. Excessive liver steatosis leads to hepatic insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammation, accelerating NAFLD progression. Physical activity brings beneficial effects against several postmenopausal-associated complications, including NAFLD progression. Aerobic and resistance exercises partially counteract alterations induced by metabolic syndrome in sedentary postmenopausal women, impacting NAFLD progression and severity.

Conclusions

With the increased global obesity epidemic in developing countries, NAFLD is becoming a severe problem with increased prevalence in women after menopause. Evidence shows that physical activity may delay NAFLD development and severity in postmenopausal women, although the prescription of age-appropriate physical activity programs is advisable to assure the health benefits.