Methods: After a pre-study, a prospective experimental randomized, controlled and single-blinded study was conducted. The sample included 31 adult women with ages ranging from 20 to 51 years old. The groups had a frequency of physical activity ≥ 2 and ≤ 4 times per week. Individuals with BMI ≤ 24.9 Kg/m2 and pregnant women excluded from the study. All participants were then randomized into one of three groups: group 1 was treated with Vaccaria seeds plus diet therapy, group 2 with ASP needles plus diet therapy and finally, group 3 received only diet therapy. A licensed nutritionist prescribed the hypocaloric diet plan. Baseline evaluation included anthropometric measures collected according to standardized procedures. They received two treatments per week for a total of 6 weeks. After one month of follow-up, all the anthropometric measures were reevaluated. Main Parameters: Weight/body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Secondary parameters: Waist to height ratio (WHtR), weight and Body Mass Index (BMI).
The implications of obesity, especially visceral fat, in health are well known. It would be desirable to control obesity by safe and effective treatment modalities. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of Auricular Acupuncture (AA) on body weight loss in a Portuguese sample.