Background: Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
is commonly associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and
metabolic syndrome. The main factor of NAFLD is
obesity, but the main cause of NAFLD in non-obese
subjects has not been clearly revealed. Therefore, this
study was to evaluate the relationship between weight
history and NAFLD in non-obese men.
Methods: We enrolled 116 adult non-obese men (body
mass index < 25.0 kg/m2) who visited the health promotion
center at a university hospital in Daegu. They were either
social drinkers or consumed 20 g or less of alcohol/day
without chronic liver disease. They were divided into two
groups of either NAFLD group or normal liver group.
Results: There were no statistic difference between the
groups in terms of age, current body weight, body weight
during their early twenties, and body mass index. However,
fasting blood sugar, hemoglobin A1C, triglyceride, HDL
cholesterol, and C-reactive protein were statistically different
between the two.
The net weight gain, since their early 20's up until the
present, among the two groups were compared, The
NAFLD group had a history of greater weight gain
compared to the normal liver group, 2.3 ± 3.79 kg and
0.3 ± 1.97 kg, respectively (P = 0.001).
Conclusion: This study shows that non-obese NAFLD
men had a greater net weight gain since their twenties
compared to the non-obese men with normal liver.
Therefore, our data suggest that non-obese NAFLD men
may need to loose weight, even though their current body
weight may be normal, in order to be healthy.

Keywords: Early twenties body weight, NAFLD,
Non-obese men