Highest Weight Loss and Abdominal Adiposity Loss With Hypocaloric Diet Plan and Auricular Acupuncture

Andreia Vieira

Status: Completed

Conditions: Weight Loss; Abdominal Obesity

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: Hypocaloric diet plan; Other: Auricular Acupuncture; Other: Acupressure

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04834180

uportoweightloss (Registry Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The implications of obesity, especially visceral fat, in health are well known. It would be desirable to control obesity by safe and effective treatment modalities. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of Auricular Acupuncture (AA) on body weight loss in a Portuguese sample.

Full description

Methods: After a pre-study, a prospective experimental randomized, controlled and single-blinded study was conducted. The sample included 31 adult women with ages ranging from 20 to 51 years old. The groups had a frequency of physical activity ≥ 2 and ≤ 4 times per week. Individuals with BMI ≤ 24.9 Kg/m2 and pregnant women excluded from the study. All participants were then randomized into one of three groups: group 1 was treated with Vaccaria seeds plus diet therapy, group 2 with ASP needles plus diet therapy and finally, group 3 received only diet therapy. A licensed nutritionist prescribed the hypocaloric diet plan. Baseline evaluation included anthropometric measures collected according to standardized procedures. They received two treatments per week for a total of 6 weeks. After one month of follow-up, all the anthropometric measures were reevaluated. Main Parameters: Weight/body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Secondary parameters: Waist to height ratio (WHtR), weight and Body Mass Index (BMI).

Enrollment: 31 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adults
• Unfamiliar to acupuncture

Exclusion criteria

• Psychotropic medication
• Psychiatric or thyroid disorders
• Pregnancy

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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31 participants in 3 patient groups

Vaccaria seeds plus diet therapy

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Vaccaria seeds at the exterior side of the ear area, standard points were selected according to clinical experience in traditional Chinese medicine: Shenmen (TF4), Stomach (CO4), Hunger, Mouth (CO1), Point Zero HX1) and Sanjiao (CO17). Mustard seeds (Vaccaria ear seeds, Beijing Zhongyan Taihe Medicine, Beijing, China) were used, plus diet therapy prescribed by a licensed nutritionist.

Treatment:

Other: Acupressure

Dietary Supplement: Hypocaloric diet plan

ASP needles plus diet therapy

Active Comparator group

Description:

ASP needles on the outside of the ear standard points were selected according to clinical experience in traditional Chinese medicine: ASP gold needles, strengthening the centre with point 0 (the umbilicus) in the dominant ear, Porta Fortunae in the non-dominant ear, Barbiturate in the non-dominant ear, Psychosomatique key point in the dominant ear and the point Aggression, plus diet therapy prescribed by a licensed nutritionist.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Hypocaloric diet plan

Other: Auricular Acupuncture

only diet therapy

No Intervention group

Description:

only diet therapy prescribed by a licensed nutritionist.