Author Identifier (ORCID)

Kedar Deshpande: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6543-9896

Kazunori Nosaka: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7373-4994

Abstract

Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a chronic liver condition associated with lifestyle and metabolic risk factors. While exercise is a beneficial treatment strategy, many patients struggle to implement and perform exercise regularly. It is important for practitioners to know about patient awareness, attitudes, and preferences regarding exercise in the con-text of MASLD. In this study, we examined exercise knowledge, attitudes, and exercise preferences among patients with MASLD to improve their exercise behavior changes. Methods: We conducted a questionnaire and semi-structured inter-view study in adults with MASLD to assess their disease awareness, perspectives on exercise and exercise preferences. MASLD severity was assessed using controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and tran-sient elastography (TE) to determine the severity of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis, respectively. Transcripts were coded using NVivo soft-ware, and thematic analysis was employed to extract key themes. Results: A total of 18 interviews were completed with 18 MASLD patients (37-76 years), who attended an outpatient hepatology clinic. The majority of participants demonstrated awareness of MASLD’s severity but lacked knowledge about exercise as a treatment option. Participants expressed preferences for exercises that were time-effi-cient, easy to perform, non-strenuous, and portable. Walking emerged as the most favored exercise, followed by resistance exercises with free weights and eccentric-biased bodyweight exercises. Conclusions: This study provides insights into individuals’ perspectives on exercise in MASLD, highlighting the need for targeted edu-cation and personalized exercise interventions. Understanding these perspectives can inform the development of effective strategies to promote long-term exercise adherence and improve clinical outcomes in MASLD management.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

8-1-2025

Volume

15

Issue

3

Publication Title

Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Publisher

Elmer Press

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences

Funders

Edith Cowan University

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Comments

Deshpande, K., Olynyk, J., Ayonrinde, O., & Nosaka, K. (2025). Exercise perceptions in people with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic Liver disease: Insights from a qualitative study. Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 15(3), 109–117. https://doi.org/10.14740/jem1527

First Page

109

Last Page

117

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.14740/jem1527