Auricular acupressure found to decrease total cholesterol levels in adolescents with obesity

Researchers from Sehan University and Ewha Woman’s University in South Korea examined the effects of auricular acupressure on obesity in adolescents. Their findings were published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.

• Adolescent obesity is increasing globally, so finding a suitable intervention for it is necessary.
• To test the potential of auricular acupressure, the researchers recruited 58 obese adolescents and divided them into two groups: the experimental (32 participants) group and the control (32 participants) group.
• The former received auricular acupressure using vaccaria seeds while the latter received a placebo auricular acupressure for eight weeks.
• Body weight, abdominal circumference, hip circumference, waist-hip ratio, body-mass index, body-fat mass, body-fat percentage, triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum glucose and leptin were considered as outcome measures.
• The researchers reported that at the end of the intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements in total cholesterol levels and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels compared with the control group.

Based on their results, the researchers concluded that auricular acupressure using vaccaria seeds can decrease total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels in adolescents with obesity.

Journal Reference:

Cha HS, Park H. EFFECTS OF AURICULAR ACUPRESSURE ON OBESITY IN ADOLESCENTS. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. May 2019;35:316–322. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.03.014