The overall weight loss was the same for both diets, however.
Professor Iris Shai, who led the study, said in a pressed release: “Reducing liver fat is a better predictor of long-term health than a reduction in visceral fat, which was previously believed to be the main predictor.
“The findings are a significant contributor to the emerging understanding that for many obese individuals, excess liver fat is not merely a sign of health risks associated with obesity, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but it likely also a cause.
“Healthy nutrition, while also maintaining consistent, moderate weight loss, has a much more dramatic impact on levels of body fat related to diabetes, heart disease and cardiovascular disease than we previously thought.”