The effect of acupuncture on weight loss may be maximized when acupuncture treatment is combined with lifestyle management in patients with overweight.
We found 27 trials involving 32 intervention arms and 2,219 patients. Acupuncture plus lifestyle modification (LM) was more effective than LM alone and sham acupuncture plus LM, whereas acupuncture alone was not more effective than sham acupuncture alone and no treatment. Auricular acupuncture, manual acupuncture and pharmacopuncture favoured weight loss. Finally, acupuncture treatment was effective only in subjects with overweight, not in subjects with obesity (body mass index ≥30).
Our study suggests that the effect of acupuncture on weight loss may be maximized when auricular and manual acupuncture or pharmacopuncture treatment is combined with LM in patients with overweight.
