Abstract
Among adolescent girls, overweight or obesity has both physical and psychological involvement. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of moxibustion using a moxa burner. Fifty-four eligible girls aged 15–18 years with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25.3 were enrolled in the study. The girls were randomly allocated to the treatment (n = 27) and control (n = 27) groups. The girls underwent treatment three times per week for 8 weeks (24 treatments). Moxibustion was applied to the RN12, RN6, ST25, ST36, and SP6 acupoints. Physical assessments were BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and body fat ratio (BFR). Psychological outcomes were measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Data were collected at the beginning of the study (baseline), week 4, and week 8. Of the 54 participants, 46 completed the trial. The difference in mean BMI from baseline between the two groups was 0.097 (p=0.655) at week 4 and −0.794 (p=0.001) at week 8. The mean WHR of the treatment group was significantly reduced compared with baseline, with a −0.011 (p=0.017) and −0.035 (p < 0.001) mean change at weeks 4 and 8, respectively. The mean BFR was slightly reduced (−0.253;p=0.474 ) at week 4 compared with baseline in the treatment group. At week 8, it was significantly reduced (−2.068; p < 0.001) from baseline in the treatment group. The mean RSE in the treatment group showed no significant increase from baseline at week 4 (0.155 points, p=0.803), but it improved significantly from baseline at week 8 (1.606 points, p=0.021) compared to that in the control group. No obvious adverse effect was reported during this study. Moxibustion using a moxa burner may be an effective and safe intervention for overweight adolescent girls, having both physical and psychological benefits.
Highlights
Overweight in adolescents is a major health concern worldwide because it is a strong predictor of high risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems [1, 2]
Adolescent girls who developed a negative body image were found to be at a greater risk of subsequent psychological difficulties, such as frustration or a sense of failure [10]
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first integrated clinical trial to evaluate the effects of moxibustion on adolescent girls with overweight
Summary
Overweight in adolescents is a major health concern worldwide because it is a strong predictor of high risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems [1, 2]. Being overweight or obese is more likely to contribute to Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine major psychological problems among girls than among boys [8, 9]. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) techniques, including acupuncture, body or auricular acupoint stimulation, and acupoint catgut embedding, have become increasingly widely applied for controlling overweight and obesity. Moxibustion is a thermal stimulation method that employs ignited material applied onto or above the surface of the skin of a patient [11]. It can be applied above acupoints on the surface of the patient’s skin by using moxa sticks [12]. At the end of the 8-week intervention period, patients in the moxibustion group would exhibit more substantial improvement in both physical and psychological function than would those in the control group
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