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What are the benefits and drawbacks of acupuncture for weight loss?

Jan 25, 2025 Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Zhang Xiuhong
Introduction
Under normal circumstances, the benefits of acupuncture for weight loss include promoting metabolism, controlling appetite, improving digestive function, regulating body functions, and enhancing immunity. The potential drawbacks include pain and discomfort, risk of infection, skin damage, endocrine disorders, and psychological effects. To ensure the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture for weight loss, it is recommended to choose a reputable medical institution.

Generally speaking, the benefits of acupuncture for weight loss include promoting metabolism, controlling appetite, improving digestive function, regulating body functions, and enhancing immunity. The drawbacks include pain and discomfort, risk of infection, skin damage, risk of weight regain, and high economic costs. A detailed analysis is as follows:

I. Benefits

1. Promote Metabolism

Acupuncture can stimulate the nervous and endocrine systems, promoting the body's metabolism, accelerating fat burning, and consuming excess energy, thereby reducing body weight.

2. Control Appetite

Acupuncture can affect the appetite center in the brain, reducing hunger and appetite, helping to control food intake and calorie consumption, thus achieving weight loss.

3. Improve Digestive Function

Acupuncture can stimulate gastrointestinal motility and secretion, promote digestion and absorption of food, reduce fat accumulation, and improve issues such as indigestion and constipation.

4. Regulate Body Functions

Acupuncture can regulate the body's yin-yang balance, improve spleen and stomach function, help consolidate weight loss effects, and reduce recurrence rates. At the same time, acupuncture also helps relieve stress, relax the mind, and improve overeating caused by emotional fluctuations.

5. Enhance Immunity

Acupuncture can regulate immune system function, enhance the body's resistance, prevent diseases and infections, thus maintaining overall health and stable weight.

II. Drawbacks

1. Pain and Discomfort

Acupuncture is an invasive treatment; needle insertion may cause pain and discomfort. Although this pain is usually tolerable, some individuals may experience needle fainting.

2. Risk of Infection

If choosing an unqualified medical facility for acupuncture weight loss, improper operation or inadequate hygiene after acupuncture may lead to local infection.

3. Skin Damage

If the practitioner lacks experience or performs the procedure improperly, acupuncture for weight loss may cause local skin damage.

4. Risk of Weight Regain

Acupuncture weight loss requires a consistent course of treatment. If healthy lifestyle habits such as balanced diet and moderate exercise are not maintained after achieving weight loss, weight regain may occur.

5. High Economic Cost

Acupuncture weight loss requires regular treatments, which may result in high economic costs that could be a burden for patients with limited financial resources.

To ensure the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture weight loss, it is recommended to choose a qualified medical institution and undergo treatment under the guidance of a qualified physician. Additionally, acupuncture weight loss is not suitable for everyone, especially pregnant women, patients with heart disease, and those with hypertension, who should avoid its use.

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