The Impact of Auricular Acupuncture on Appetite

Abstract

Background: It has been identified that Auricular acupuncture can be a possible method for modulating appetite and suggested as a cost-effective procedure to current treatments of obesity. This study aimed to investigate the effect of auricular acupuncture on appetite. Materials and Methods: This study has been carried out on 40 healthy individuals. The sample was assigned randomly by using announcement placed in Isfahan medical school, in the form of face to face or by e-mail. After recording primary appetite scores, no acupuncture was used for control group but only on Tragus point in ear, it has placed a fake tape. Acupuncture medicine was applied for another group and following to cleaning the ear, based on acupuncture medicine, needles were applied on Tragus point through "press needle" method and left in the place for 24 hours. Then, for the second time, we asked participants to fill out hunger VAS forms and the results were recorded. Afterwards needles and tapes were picked. Results: There was no significant difference in appetite scores between the two groups at baseline and pre-intervention (P value>0.05). But a significant reduction was seen in pleasure to food and hungry feeling in acupuncture group (P value<0.001).Conversely, satiety feeling and eating ability show no significant impact in this respect (P value>0.05). In control group, no appetite-related factors had shown a significant change after intervention (P value>0.05). Conclusions: Auricular acupuncture may reduce pleasure to food and hungry feeling but these results suggest that larger studies of acupuncture and appetite are warranted.