Acupuncture versus sham acupuncture for simple obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Zhong YM, Luo XC, Chen Y, Lai DL, Lu WT, Shang YN, Zhang LL, Zhou HY · Postgraduate Medical Journal · 2020 April
DOI 10.1136/postgradmedj-2019-137221
Objective
Aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of acupuncture for obesity treatment and provide clinic evidence.
Conclusions
The review suggests that acupuncture is an effective therapy for simple obesity rather than a placebo effect. This potential benefit needs to be further evaluated by longer-term and more rigorous RCTs
Critical Appraisal
Published research can offer valuable insights, but a paper’s conclusions may go beyond what its results support. Critical appraisal examines the methods, findings and limitations to clarify what can reasonably be concluded—and what remains uncertain.
This article has not yet been critically appraised by the Research Hub.
Learn more about Critical Appraisal
Insights
Acupuncture is an effective therapy for simple obesity rather than a placebo effect.
The results of this meta-analysis demonstrated that acupuncture could improve body mass index, body weight and waist circumference, suggesting that acupuncture is effective compared with sham acupuncture for the treatment of obesity. However, due to the small number of included studies and limited sample size, our conclusions remain to be confirmed by further high-quality RCTs.
