ACUPUNCTURE could help you lose weight, a study claims.
Japanese researchers said sticking small beads to three parts of your ear stimulates the nerves that control how hungry you feel.
AlamyResearchers claim an unusual type of acupuncture could help weight loss[/caption]
The traditional remedy has been sold in the country for 30 years to aid weight loss, but scientists weren’t sure if it worked as prescribed.
The findings suggest it may actually help — but only if you improve your diet and exercise as well, the authors said.
Dr Takahiro Fujimoto, of Clinic F in Tokyo, said: “It’s likely that acupuncture has a positive effect by curbing cravings and appetite, improving digestion and boosting metabolism.”
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medicine based on the idea that health depends on your body’s qi — an invisible energy that was the inspiration behind the force in Star Wars.
The practice, which is used across East Asia, usually involves piercing the skin with needles at points around the body associated with particular conditions.
Ear acupuncture differs slightly by using beads or “seeds” at pressure points on the skin, held in place with tape.
Believers say it can be used to help give up smoking, as well as lose weight.
The latest study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, looked at whether this had any real effect in practice.
Researchers tracked 81 overweight men for three months, registering how much fat they had and how much they weighed before and after the treatment.
They were also asked to regulate their diets and keep food diaries.
On average, their BMIs fell from around 28 to 25 and they lost 4 per cent of their body fat.
Dr Fujimoto said: These tiny metal beads are attached to six points on the outer ear that stimulate nerves and organs which regulate appetite, satiety and hunger.
“This type of acupuncture does not require complex knowledge or skill.
“Our findings suggest that acupuncture on the ear may aid weight loss when paired with diet and exercise.”
Not all independent experts were convinced, however.
Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, of the University of Cambridge, said: “This study showed that a group of men who were taught how to lose weight, and were monitored, managed to.
“It shows nothing whatever about the beads, and therefore seems a complete waste of time for everyone concerned.”
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, added: “This treatment for losing weight is almost as old as the hills.
“There was some hype about it when it first launched back in the early 1990s but, like fad diets, it failed to do what it said on the tin.”