Comparison Between Auricular Acupuncture, Body Acupuncture and Combination of Auricular and Body Acupuncture in Treating Simple Obesity

OBJECTIVE To observe the therapeutic effect of auricular acupuncture, body acupuncture and the combined used of the two in the treatment of simple obesity. METHOD 195 patients with simple obesity were divided into three groups, auricular acupuncture group, body acupuncture group and combination group, and were treated with reinforcing or reducing methods according to different syndromes. RESULT The therapeutic effect of the body acupuncture group and the combination group was markedly better than that in the auricular acupuncture group. In the body acupuncture group, no difference in therapeutic effect was found between different syndromes. In the auricular acupuncture group, the therapeutic effect obtained in the patients with the syndrome of stomach and intestine excess heat was better than the patients with the syndrome of spleen deficiency and obstruction by dampness and the syndrome of kidney qi deficiency. CONCLUSION Better therapeutic effect can be obtained by combining auricular acupuncture with body acupuncture.