Acupuncture for the Treatment of Simple Obesity: Basic and Clinical Aspects

Abstract

Obesity is a serious, prevalent, and refractory health problem. Individuals who are overweight or obese are at greater risk for a variety of medical conditions including diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, fatty liver, cardiovascular disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Typical therapy for obesity includes: diet restriction, regulation of physical activity, behavior treatment, pharmacotherapy, operation, or the use of any of these methods in combination. The cost of treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases is significant in general health expenditures of various countries. Moreover, pharmacotherapy and surgical operations have side effects and may be unsafe for some people. Even the behavioral treatments, including diet restriction and regulation of physical activity, seem to produce unfavorable psychological changes. The introduction of new therapies for obesity is in demand. Acupuncture, practiced for several thousand years in China as monotherapy or complementary therapy that よゆ safe and inexpensive, is increasingly used worldwide in the treatment of a wide spectrum of clinic symptoms and diseases. Acupuncture has been found effective in weight control since 1980s'. An increasing body of evidence demonstrates that acupuncture has good effects for weight loss without adverse reactions. Although relatively new, acupuncture therapy for obesity is increasingly accepted by more and more people around the world. In addition, acupuncture can help with the treatment of obesity-related diseases. Extensive research on acupuncture weight loss has been conducted in both basic and clinic areas in recent years. In this chapter we try to provide a comprehensive review of the most recent basic and clinical advances relating to acupuncture in the treatment of obesity.