Low-Level Laser Therapy for Reducing the Hip, Waist, and Upper Abdomen Circumference of Individuals with Obesity

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) for reducing hip, thigh, and abdomen circumference of individuals with body-mass index (BMI) between 30 and 40 kg/m 2. Background: Previous studies demonstrated the effectiveness of LLLT for reducing body circumference in the hips, thighs, and abdomen of nonobese individuals with a BMI <30 kg/m 2. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind shamcontrolled study, obese, but otherwise healthy, individuals were randomized to undergo 30-min LLLT (n = 28) or sham treatments (n = 25) three times weekly for 4 weeks. Body measurements were obtained after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment and 2 weeks post-treatment (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01821352). Results: After 4 weeks, 20 LLLT-treated subjects (71.43%) achieved ‡7.2 cm decrease in combined measurements versus three sham-treated subjects (12%; p < 0.00005). The mean (standard deviation) decrease in combined measurement for LLLT-treated subjects was 10.52 (7.59) cm (p < 0.0001 vs. baseline) versus 1.80 (3.20) cm for sham-treated subjects. Among subjects with a combined ‡7.2 cm decrease, the mean total decrease 2 weeks post-treatment was 15.21 cm. There were no adverse events. Conclusions: Based on these results, the device was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a noninvasive esthetic treatment for reduction of circumference of hips, waist, and upper abdomen when applied to individuals with a BMI between 30 and 40 kg/m 2 .

Under the spotlight: mechanisms of photobiomodulation concentrating on blue and green light

“…A second Scopus database search was undertaken to evaluate the effects of green light PBM using the terms described in Figure 3b. An initial search resulted in 236 articles being identified and these articles were subsequently screened for suitability, which then identified 32 relevant articles for further review (18,32,33,64,68,69,79,164,168,171,176,177,186,197,205,209,(212)(213)(214)(215)(216)(217)(218)(219)(220)(221)(222)(223)(224)(225)(226)(227).…”

Photobiomodulation: a potential adjunctive obesity intervention a review

“…Other research has shown low-level laser therapy for reducing the hip, waist, and upper abdomen circumference of individuals with obesity and when applied to individuals with a BMI between 30 and 40 kg/m2 is successful 23 and may reflect the power of low level laser applications to reduce inflammatory processes associated with obesity 5,24,25 and pain. 25 It may also enhance exercise associated benefits to reduce obesity, [26][27][28][29] as well as the extent of comorbid disease associations.…”