Acupuncture, Simple Obesity & Hyperlipoproteinemia

abstracted & translated by

Bob Flaws, L.Ac., FNAAOM (USA), FRCHM (UK)

Keywords: Chinese medicine, acupuncture, obesity, hyperlipoproteinemia, high cholesterol

On pages 220-221 of issue #4, 2006 of the Zhe Jiang Zhong Yi Za Zhi (Zhejiang Journal of Chinese Medicine), Qiu Xiao-ling et al. published an article titled, "Clinical Observations on the Acupuncture Treatment of Simple Obesity & Hyperlipoproteinemia." A summary of this article is presented below.

Cohort description:

Altogether, there were 90 patients enrolled in this two-wing comparison study. Among these 90 patients, there were 72 females and eight males 25-64 years of age with a disease duration of from 1-27 years. These patients were randomly divided into two groups of 45 patients each which were judged statistically comparable in terms of age, sex, level obesity, blood lipid levels, and disease duration. One of these groups received acupuncture plus electro-acupuncture and the other received acupuncture plus hand stimulation. All had a body mass index (BMI) of 25 points or more. In addition, all had total cholesterol (TC) of 6.0mmol/L or more, triglycerides (TG) of 1.70mmol/L, high density lipids (HDL-C) of 1.04mmol/L or less if male, or low density lipids (LDL-C) of 1.17mmol/L or more if female. Exclusion criteria included hypothyroidism, liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, or drug therapy causing high cholesterol.

Treatment method:

The basic acupuncture points used on all members of both groups consisted of:

Zhong Wan (CV 12)
Xia Wan (CV 10)
Shui Fen (CV 9)
Qi Hai (CV 6)
Guan Yuan (CV 4)
Hua Rou Men (24)
Wai Ling (St 26)
Da Heng (Sp 15)
Tian Shu (St 25)
Qu Chi (LI 11)
Zu San Li (St 36)
San Yin Jiao (Sp 6)

If there was spleen vacuity with damp obstruction, Yin Ling Quan (Sp 9), Gong Sun (Sp 4), and Feng Long (St 40) were added. If there was stomach and intestine replete heat, Zhi Gou (TB 6) and Gui Lai (St 29) were added. If there was qi stagnation and blood stasis, Xue Hai (Sp 10) and Tai Chong (Liv 3) were added. If there was spleen-kidney yang vacuity, Pi Shu (Bl 20), Shen Shu (Bl 23), and Tai Xi (Ki 3) were added.

Members of group A received acupuncture plus electro-acupuncture stimulation. Fine needles 0.25 x 50 millimeters were inserted into the above points and then manipulated with even supplementing-even draining technique. In addition, after obtaining the qi, Qu Chi and Zu San Li were stimulated electrically using a G-6805 electro-acupuncture device with a high frequency continuous wave. The needles were retained for 30 minutes. Members of group B were also needled with the same size fine needles. After obtaining the qi, those manifesting repletion patterns were treated with twisting and twirling draining hand technique, while those manifesting vacuity patterns were treated with twisting and twirling supplementing hand technique. The needles at Qu Chi and Zu San Li were manipulated every 10 minutes, with the needles also being retained for 30 minutes. Both groups were thus treated one time every other day, with 10 treatments equaling one course and three courses being given.

Study outcomes:

Cure was defined as a complete disappearance of clinical symptoms and less than 20% a body fat in men and less than 30% in women or a BMI within normal parameters. A marked effect was defined as a basic disappearance of clinical symptoms with a reduction of weight of five kilograms or more or a reduction in percentage of body fat of 5% or more. Improvement meant that there was an improvement in clinical symptoms and a loss of two kilograms of weight or more or a reduction in body fat of 1% or more. No effect meant that there was no obvious improvement in clinical symptoms and any loss of weight was less than two kilograms and any reduction in body fat was less than 1%. The following table shows the outcomes based on these criteria.

These outcomes suggest that hand stimulation is superior than electrical stimulation in weight-loss acupuncture, at least at Qu Chi and Zu San Li. In addition, after treatment, group B had a greater mean loss of weight, a lower mean percentage of body fat, and a lower mean BMI score than did group A. Prior to treatment there was no significant statistical differences in the mean scores between these two groups. Similarly, after treatment group B had significantly lower mean TC and significantly higher mean HDL-C than group A.

Discussion:

According to the Chinese authors of this study, obesity is mainly due to a former heaven natural endowment insufficiency combined with unregulated diet, prolonged sitting and scanty exercise, and loss of regulation of the mind and emotions resulting in loss of regulation in the qi and blood, yin and yang, and function of the viscera and bowels. If the triple burner original qi is insufficient, this leads to water dampness, phlegm turbidity, and greasy fat congesting and becoming exuberant in the interior of the body. This condition is mainly located in the three viscera of the liver, spleen, and kidneys. However, it is especially centered in the spleen and kidneys. If the spleen loses its fortification and movement, the movement and transformation of water dampness and the finest essence of water and grains will lose their normalcy, resulting in the internal engenderment of phlegm turbidity or phlegm dampness. Therefore, the authors believe that acupuncture for obesity and high cholesterol should mainly regulate and rectify the spleen and stomach and supplement the kidneys assisted by quickening the blood and transforming stasis, coursing the liver and disinhibiting the gallbladder. Within the above protocol, they say that Zhong Wan, Xia Wan, Shui Fen, Hua Rou Men, Wai Ling, Tian Shu, Da Heng, Zu San Li, Qi Hai, and Guan Yuan fortify and move the spleen and stomach, transform dampness and disinhibit water, disperse and eliminate accumulation and stagnation, warm the kidneys and invigorate yang. In addition, Yin Ling Quan, Gong Sun, and Feng Long strengthen the fortification of the spleen, the transformation of dampness, and the elimination of phlegm, while Zhi Gou and Gui Lai drain stomach fire and free the flow and regulate the bowel qi. Xue Hai and Tai Chong move the qi and quicken the blood, and Pi Shu, Shen Shu, and Tai Xi boost the source of fire.

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