COMPARISON OF THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF AURICULAR ACUPUNCTURE, BODY ACUPUNCTURE AND COMBINATION OF AURICULAR PLUS BODY ACUPUNCTURE FOR TREATMENT OF SIMPLE OBESITY

Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of auricular acupuncture (AA), body acupuncture (BA) and AA + BA for treatment of simple obesity. Methods: A total of 195 cases of obesity patients including 8 males and 187 females were randomly divided into AA group (n=55), BA group (n=64) and AA+ BA group (n=76). Acupuncture treatment was given to the patient once every other day, with 12 sessions being a therapeutic course. Results: Af ter one course of treatment, ofthe55 cases in AA group, 1 case (1.8%) was cured, 15(27.3%) had marked improvement, 11(20.0%) had improvement and 28 (50.9%) failed in treatment, with the total effective rate being 49.9%.In BA group, of the 64 cases, 11(17.2%) were cured, 23 (35.9%) had striking improvement, 18 (28. 1%) had improvement and 12 (18.8%) failed in treatment, with an effective rate of 81.2%. In AA+ BA group, of the 76 cases, 16 (21. 1%) were cured, 35 (46. 1%) had significant amelioration, 20 (26.3%) had amelioration and 5 (6. 6%) failed in treatment, with the effective rate being 93.4%. Statistical analysis showed that the therapeutic effect of BA and AA+ BA groups was significantly superior to that of AA group (P< 0.05); and that of AA+ BA group was higher than that of BA group. Conclusion: The therapeutic effect of BA and AA+ BA was superior to that of AA in treatment of simple obesity.