A chronic metabolic illness known as obesity is brought on by an imbalance between energy intake and consumption, which leads to an excessive build-up and aberrant distribution of body fat. 37% of Australians are overweight, and 27% are obese, according to a recent research. The risk of heart disease, diabetes, digestive issues, and several cancers will grow with obesity.
Dietary restriction, physical activity, and bariatric surgery are among the conventional methods used to treat obesity. Although changing one's lifestyle is frequently the initial step toward treating obesity, this strategy rarely results in significant weight loss. Additionally, research on nutrition and behavioral therapy has demonstrated that maintaining weight stability is challenging when obesity is linked to a variety of metabolic abnormalities.
With thousands of years of clinical practice, traditional Chinese medicine has safely, gently, and permanently treated obesity. According to TCM philosophy, the stomach and spleen are the sources of blood and qi, and they also supply the dietary basis for the acquired constitution. TCM physicians postulated that all metabolic disorders originated from weakening of the spleen and stomach in their theory of the spleen and stomach. An imbalance in the gut flora was discovered in the TCM spleen and stomach deficiency condition. Thus, investigations on treating obesity and obesity-related disorders center on controlling the structure and function of the intestinal microbiota to address spleen and stomach deficiencies in TCM.
After years of clinical use, certain Chinese herbal formulations have demonstrated the ability to lower body weight in overweight and obese people while also reducing insulin resistance. In one study, for example, the Chinese herbal compound Xin-Ju-Xiao-Gao-Fang caused an average weight loss of 3.9% in obese patients after 24 weeks of therapy. Because it may improve the diversity and quantity of gut microbiota, regulate metabolic problems, and lower the expression of flora linked with lipopolysaccharide manufacturing, the Shenlian decoction (made of Coptis and ginseng) is thought to be an effective medicine for weight loss.
As acupuncture regulates appetite and energy expenditure, it is especially effective for obese people and is commonly used in clinical practice to help them lose weight. Numerous research looked at treating obesity with acupuncture alone starting in the 1970s. According to one study, 21 obese patients who received treatment for two to six weeks at different acupoints lost an average of 3.3±1.9 kg, with a range of 1-7.3 kg. Recently, a group of 45 adult obese patients (8 males and 37 females) had weekly acupuncture treatments in addition to personalized dietary and aerobic activity advice. Effectiveness was evaluated at 8 weeks, with a reduction of at least 2 kg and 1% in body weight and body fat, respectively.
Reference:
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Li, D, W Tang, Y Wang, Q Gao, H Zhang, Y Zhang, Y Wang, et al. "An Overview of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affecting Gut Microbiota in Obesity." Frontiers in endocrinology 14 (2023): 1149751.
Wang, L, CC Yu, J Li, Q Tian, and YJ Du. "Mechanism of Action of Acupuncture in Obesity: A Perspective from the Hypothalamus." Frontiers in endocrinology 12 (2021): 632324.
Zhang, RQ, J Tan, FY Li, YH Ma, LX Han, and XL Yang. "Acupuncture for the Treatment of Obesity in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Postgraduate medical journal 93, no. 1106 (2017): 743-51.
Zhou, Q, B Chang, XY Chen, SP Zhou, Z Zhen, LL Zhang, X Sun, et al. "Chinese Herbal Medicine for Obesity: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Multicenter, Prospective Trial." The American journal of Chinese medicine 42, no. 6 (2014): 1345-56.
