Clinical research on using acupuncture to treat female adult abdominal obesity with spleen deficiency and exuberant dampness

OBJECTIVE: To observe the curative effect of acupuncture at hour-prescriptive points, a method of midnight-noon ebb-flow, to treat female adult abdominal obesity with spleen deficiency and exuberant dampness. METHODS: Seventy-two patients with adult abdominal obesity with spleen deficiency and exuberant dampness were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group with 36 patients in each group. Patients in the treatment group were treated with acupuncture at hour-prescriptive points from 9 to 11 AM every day on the principle of taking points along channels in time. Patients in the control group were treated with acupuncture at any time beyond 9 to 11 AM. Patients in both groups were treated for three courses of treatment. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 87.5% in the treatment group and 78.8% in the control group. The total curative effect in the treatment group was significantly better than that in the control group in reducing body weight, body mass index, waistline, obesity level, and clinical symptoms (P < 0.05). After treatment, t-test was used on two independent samples to analyze the ratio of waistline to hipline and hipline. A value of 0.01 < P < 0.05 expressed a weaker outcome and similar curative effect between the two groups in reducing ratio of waistline to hipline and hipline of patients. This value indicates that the treatment group has no obvious superiority to that of the control group for curative effect. CONCLUSION: Because it was superior in reducing waistline and body weight of female adult patients suffering from abdominal obesity with spleen deficiency and exuberant dampness, acupuncture at hour-prescriptive points, a method of midnight-noon ebb-flow, is an effective method to treat obesity.