Clinical observation on acupuncture combined with diet control for treatment of simple obesity

OBJECTIVE: To search for an effective method for increasing the therapeutic effect on simple obesity. METHODS: Three hundred and thirty-four cases of simple obesity were randomly divided into an observation group (n=112), a control group I (n=112) and a control group II (n=110). The observation group was treated with acupuncture at Zhongwan (CV 12), Tianshu (ST 25), Guanyuan (CV 4), and diet control, the control group I with simple acupuncture and the control group II with diet control. RESULTS: Of the 334 cases enrolled, 66 withdrawn from the experiment (3 cases in the observation group, 5 cases in the control group I and 58 cases in the control group II ). The total effective rate was 91.8% in the observation group, 75.7% in the control group I and 73.1% in the control group I, with a significant differences as the observation group compared with the control group I or the control group II (both P<0.005); the effect-rebounding rate one year later in the observation group or the control group I was significantly different from that of the control group II (both P<0.001); and the number of cases withdrawning from the experiment in the control group II was significantly different from that in the observation group or in the control group I (both P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with diet control has a significant effect on simple obesity with a lower rate of the effect-rebounding, and it is easily accepted.