Acupuncture in the Treatment of Obesity: A Narrative Review of the Literature

Abstract

Obesity is one of the leading health risk factors worldwide and is associated with several other risk factors and health problems including type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and malignancies. Current conventional therapeutic strategies for obesity cannot achieve adequate weight control in all patients, so complementary types of treatment are also performed. Acupuncture, one of the oldest healing practices, represents the most rapidly growing complementary therapy which is recognised by both the National Institutes of Health and the WHO. A previous review concluded that acupuncture was superior to lifestyle advice, to sham acupuncture and to conventional medication. In this narrative review, the possible mechanisms of actions and the results of recent experimental and clinical studies with different forms of acupuncture (eg, body, auricular, manual and electroacupuncture) are presented. In particular, the effects of acupuncture on anorexigenic and orexigenic peptides, insulin resistance, lipid metabolism and inflammatory markers are discussed. Both experimental and clinical current data suggest that acupuncture exerts beneficial effects on the mechanisms of obesity. Some data suggest that electroacupuncture may be more effective than manual acupuncture; however, the most effective frequency remains controversial. Combination of different forms of acupuncture with diet and exercise seems to be necessary for achieving and maintaining weight loss. Further prospective clinical trials are needed to establish the effectiveness of this complementary method for obesity treatment.

Plasma Nesfatin-1 Level in Obese Patients after Acupuncture: A Randomised Controlled Trial

“…9 Although the mechanism by which acupuncture helps to reduce obesity is not clear, several studies suggest that it increases the neural activity associated with the ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus, raises the tone of the smooth muscle of the stomach and decreases circulating leptin and insulin levels. 10 Since nesfatin-1 is an anorexigenic protein newly associated with loss of appetite, we hypothesised that it might be involved in the effects of acupuncture on obesity.…”

Therapeutic effects of acupuncture on obesity and HbA1c

“…Many mechanisms have been proposed to explain how acupuncture results in weight loss [3,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. For this indication, multiple needle locations and application procedures are utilized, though most needles are placed along the stomach and spleen meridians and in hunger points on the ear.…”

“…However, these interventions are often unsuccessful for weight-loss and weight-control. Alternative and complementary approaches such as acupuncture have been suggested [3,10,13,14]. In a meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled studies, acupuncture was shown to provide more body weight reduction (BWR) than lifestyle changes [13].…”

“…The basis of the treatment is insertion of needles into the skin. The stimuli thus delivered may produce changes through neural and hormonal mechanisms [3,10]. Acupuncture aims to balance and maintain 'life energy' or 'Qi', which is thought to circulate through 'meridians' in the body.…”

“…Obesity is a problem of global proportions and its negative impacts on health are becoming increasingly apparent [1][2][3][4]. A 2009 World Health Organisation (WHO) report stated that Turkish females and males over 20 years old had mean body-mass index (BMI) values of 28.3 kg/m 2 and 26.8 kg/m 2 , respectively [4].…”