Electroacupuncture Combined With Auricular Pressure Therapy Clinical Efficacy Of Treatment Of Simple Obesity

Objective:The paper aims to examine the curative effects of acupuncture when coordinated with ear acupuncture point therapy on the treatment of obesity. Besides, numerous clinical trials were conducted to evaluate and assess the efficacy of acupuncture and ear acupuncture point therapy on obesity treatment. Method:A systematic review of clinical trials was carried out in which 30 overweight patients were randomly assigned to the control and treatment group respectively. Patients from the control group were prescribed a diet of 1200 Kcal per day of conventional foods. Furthermore, they were also obliged to exercise everyday (jogging for 1hour), with a daily energy expenditure of approximately 250 kcal per day. On the other hand, patients from the treatment group have to undergo acupuncture and ear acupuncture point therapy simultaneously, in addition to the restricted diet and exercise routine as mentioned previously. During the treatment, disposable acupuncture needles (4.5mm in length) were inserted into the selected acupuncture points and they comprised of "zhong wan", "shui dao", "guan yuan", "tian shu", "dai mai", "qu chi", "zhu shan li" and "feng rong". Subsequently, electric current was conducted through the needles via specialized equipment for 50 minutes. The treatment was executed 3 times per week and the complete therapy entailed a total of 4 weeks. Additionally, the acupuncture treatment was coupled with ear acupuncture point therapy whereby tiny magnetic studs were attached to acupuncture points on the ears of patients. The acupuncture points are namely "shan jiao", "shen men" and "nei fen mi". During the course of ear acupuncture point therapy, patients were required to massage the 3 major acupuncture points themselves. The procedure was typically performed before their meals for roughly 2-3 minutes until they experienced warm and ache sensation.On average, patients who underwent the weight loss program were 38 years old and they ranged from 16 to 60 years of age. Conversely, the medical history of patients varies from 1 to 25 years. To evaluate the effectiveness of the acupuncture and ear acupuncture point therapy on obesity treatment, changes in the weight, body mass index (BMI), metabolic rate, waistline, hip circumference, total body fat mass and blood pressure of the patients were measured (before and after the treatment). Above all, a comparative review was made on how the patients adapt to the obesity treatment.Epidemiological and clinical trials have proven that the treatment is effective, long-lasting and relatively easy to perform. More importantly, it is safe and yields little side-effects as compared to treatments which involve consuming weight loss pills. All in all, it is evident from the study that there is great potential to incorporate acupuncture and ear acupuncture point therapy in future weight loss program due to its effectiveness in controlling obesity.Observations:...