Efficacy of electro-acupuncture at the main acupoints for weight reduction in Thai obese women

Abstract

Background: Alternative medicine and Asian traditional medicine propose the use of acupuncture for treating obesity that generates several collateral effects on overall health. Objective: Analyze the efficacy of electro-acupuncture (EA) at the main acupoints in overweight/obese Thai women. Methods: Thirty women were recruited from Srinakharinwirot University Hospital. The patients were divided into three groups based on the type of obesity by the traditional Chinese medicine. Electro-acupuncture was done at 22 main acupoints. The primary outcome was efficacy of EA effect on body-weight reduction, while changes of other anthropometric parameters were considered as secondary outcome. Results: At the end of acupuncture, 87% of women had weight reduction, and major benefit was observed in type 2 and type 3 groups. The overall weight reduction was 2.6 kg (95%CI: 1.2-4.0 kg). However, the deficiency-type obese women (type 2 and 3) had more weight reduction than the excess-type obese women (type 1) with mean weight reduction of 2.3 kg and 0.8 kg, respectively. All other anthropometric parameters decreased significantly compared to those at the beginning of acupuncture. Conclusion: Acupuncture was useful for treatment for obesity in middle age women. Our standardized acupoints may be of clinical use for the application of acupuncture to patients.