OBJECTIVETo evaluate the therapeutic effect of acupuncture for treatment of simple obesity, and to analyze the current situation of clinical studies.

METHODSRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving acupuncture treatment for simple obesity were searched from PubMed (1979-2008), OVID (1979-2008), EBSCO (1973-2008), Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2008), CBM (1978-2008), CNKI (1979-2008), VIP (1989-2008) and WanFang Database (1998-2008). Literatures were enrolled focusing on RCTs related to acupuncture treatment for simple obesity; the quality of literatures were evaluated by two evaluators unaidedly. Meta-analyses were conducted with the Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 4.2.8 software.

RESULTSEight papers including 1,017 cases, conformed with the enrolled criteria. Meta-analyses showed that there were significant difference between acupuncture groups and western medicine groups in the effective rate [combined RR (fixed effects model) = 1.11, 95% CI (1.05, 1.18), P=0.0006]. There was a significant difference between acupuncture and Sibutramine in the body mass [combined WMD (fixed effects model) = 1.94, 95%CI (1.73, 2.16), P<0.00001] and body mass index (BMI) [combined WMD (fixed effects model) = 0.52, 95% CI (0.33, 0.70), P<0.00001]. However, acupuncture was not superior to Sibutramine in hip circumference (HC) [combined WMD (fixed effects model) = -0.35, 95% CI (-0.56, -0.15), P<0.0007].

CONCLUSIONFor treating simple obesity, besides reasonable diet and exercise, acupuncture is safe and effective, which may be more effective than routine western medicine. The quantity of literature was limited and the quality of some literatures was low. Thus, more high-quality and large-scale of RCTs are needed.