Effects of auricular acupressure using Sinapsis alba seeds on obesity and self-efficacy in female college students.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of auricular acupressure with Sinapsis alba seeds on obesity and self-efficacy. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTINGS: College settings located in metropolitan areas of Korea. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 49 female college students who were overweight or obese (body-mass index [BMI] ≥25.0 kg/m(2)) were recruited and randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=25) or the control group (n=24). INTERVENTIONS: The experimental group applied three S. alba seeds to each of five auricular points (Shenmen, mouth, stomach, endocrine, and small intestine points). These participants were asked to stimulate those points 10 times at a rate of two times per second 30 minutes before mealtime, three times daily, for 1 month. They performed the procedure for each earlobe for alternating weeks (a total of 2 weeks' treatment for each ear). OUTCOME MEASURES: The obesity index included weight (kg), BMI (kg/m(2)), percentage body fat, and waist-to-hip ratio. Self-efficacy was measured by using a self-efficacy scale. RESULTS: Female students in the experimental group showed significant decreases in weight (t=10.76; p<0.001) and BMI (t=9.60; p<0.001) and significant improvement in self-efficacy (t=1.85; p<0.05) compared with those in the control group. However, percentage body fat (t=1.27; p>0.05) and waist-to-hip ratio (t=0.60; p>0.05) changes did not significantly differ between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that auricular acupressure using S. alba seeds may be an effective intervention for decreasing weight and BMI and increasing self-efficacy of overweight and obese individuals.