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Effects of electroacupuncture in reducing weight and waist circumference in obese women: a randomized crossover trial

International Journal of Obesity volume 29, pages 1379–1384 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To compare the effects of weight control on simple obese women between electroacupuncture and sit-up exercise.

DESIGN:

Randomized and crossover trial conducted from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2002. The subjects were randomly divided into groups A and B. Group A received electroacupuncture treatment first while group B received sit-up exercise treatment first. After 6 weeks of treatment and 7 days of washout, group A switched to sit-up exercise treatment and group B received electroacupuncture treatment for another 6 weeks.

PATIENTS:

In total, 54 simple obese women, with waist circumference (WC)>90 cm and body mass index (BMI)>30 kg/m2, and who had not received any other weight control maneuver within the last 3 months.

MEASUREMENT:

The measurements of body weight (BW), BMI and WC were performed at the beginning, 6, 8 and 13 weeks. The data at different time periods were compared and expressed as % reductions.

RESULTS:

Electroacupuncture (n=46) showed significant differences in the % reductions in BW (P=0.001), BMI (P=0.003) and WC (P=0.005) compared with sit-up exercise. At the end of 13 weeks, there were no significant difference between groups A (n=24) and B (n=22) in all the measurements. At the end of the study, groups A and B showed significant differences in the % reductions in BW (P=0.004; 0.001), BMI (P=0.003; 0.021) and WC (P≤0.001; 0.001) compared with the initial values.

CONCLUSIONS:

Electroacupuncture treatment is more effective than sit-up exercise in reducing weight and WC, making it an alternative treatment option for weight and WC control on obese women.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Shier-Chieg Huang, Chien-Chung Chen, Yen-Yi Ho, Shu-Ling Hsie, Chi-Jung Wang and Ying-Li Liao for conducting this trial. We also thank all colleagues in Taipei Hospital, Taiwan for helping with this study. This study was supported by grants from the Taipei Hospital.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Community Medicine Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    C-H Hsu & P Chou

  2. Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    C-H Hsu & P Chou

  3. Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei Hospital, Taiwan

    C-H Hsu

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Hospital, Taiwan

    K-C Hwang

  5. Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Hospital, Taiwan

    C-L Chao

  6. Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    J-G Lin & S-T Kao

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  1. C-H Hsu
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Correspondence to P Chou.

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Hsu, CH., Hwang, KC., Chao, CL. et al. Effects of electroacupuncture in reducing weight and waist circumference in obese women: a randomized crossover trial. Int J Obes 29, 1379–1384 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802997

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802997

Keywords

  • acupuncture
  • electroacupuncture

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