Acupuncture is a large and respected part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In the West, there are varying views on the idea of acupuncture. Proponents claim that it has many uses and is effective. Others discredit these claims and point to a lack of solid evidence and sound scientific theory. Weight loss is a field in which nearly everyone who can has made an effort to profit from it, ethically or otherwise. Acupuncture has been caught up in people’s efforts to capitalize on its use for obesity treatment, creating both good and bad information about it. This article gives a brief overview of the use of acupuncture in weight loss and examines the scientific evidence and Western medical theories behind it.
There have been studies published in scientific journals that demonstrate positive effects of using acupuncture to treat some conditions. In 1997, the National Institutes of Health published their Consensus Statement on Acupuncture which outlines medical conditions that may benefit from acupuncture. Weight loss was not mentioned on the list. There are some studies that point to acupuncture’s effectiveness in weight reduction. However, several of these studies have technical issues that make it difficult to draw strong scientific conclusions. Different studies have looked at using different acupoints and at varying frequencies of treatments which makes it hard to compare one study to another. Of the better designed studies, some have shown that acupuncture works and others have shown that it does not. Additionally, studies have only lasted from 3 to 24 weeks, most about 12 weeks. There are none that look at the long term effects of acupuncture on weight loss.
