Auriculotherapy on treatment of obesity: a systematic review

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Obesity can cause premature death of individuals affected by this dysfunction. In an attempt to alleviate the disorders of this disease, auriculotherapy appears as a treatment that aims to promote weight loss and better quality of life. OBJECTIVES: Identify the efficacy of auriculotherapy in weight control of obese individuals. METHODOLOGY: A systematic review was carried out according to PRISMA recommendations in the PubMed, Lilacs, Scielo and PEDro databases, from July to October 2016, with descriptors Obesity and auriculotherapy. Were included Ramdomized Clinical Trials published until 2015, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, and containing the key words in the title or abstract. In the analysis, the following were considered as primary outcome: Body Mass Index and body weight, and secondary outcome: waist circumference and leptin. RESULTS: Four articles studied the effect of auriculotherapy on obesity and showed a statistically significant reduction in the intervention groups, as well as in the two studies that evaluated body weight. Two studies analyzed waist circumference and showed a statistically significant decrease for the intervention group, while in the three studies that evaluated leptin, in two there was a reduction at the end of treatment, and in the third there was no difference in any of the groups. CONCLUSION: Auriculotherapy associated with diet may be effective in controlling the weight of obese patients, as well as anthropometric measurements and leptin levels.