Acupuncture Helps with Weight Loss and Insulin Levels

Funda Güçel, Burak Bahar, Canan Demirtas, Setenay Mit, and Cemal Çevik,

“Influence of Acupuncture on Leptin, Ghrelin, Insulin and Cholecystokinin in Obese Women: A Randomised, Sham-controlled Preliminary Trial,”

Acupuncture in Medicine, vol. 30 (3): 203-207, 2012. doi:10.1136/acupmed-2012-010127

In this trial comparing biweekly acupuncture and sham acupuncture treatments in obese women over 5 weeks, researchers found that, “acupuncture treatment decreased insulin and leptin levels and induced weight loss, together with a decrease in BMI compared with sham acupuncture,” and that, “between – group analyses demonstrated increases in plasma ghrelin and CCK [cholecystokinin] levels in subjects who received acupuncture treatment.”