Massage is commonly used as an adjuvant therapy with acupuncture. This research article was chosen as it attempts to test the synergistic benefits of adding massage therapy to acupuncture treatment in the reduction of body weight (BW) and body mass index (BMI). This paper will assess the research article with respect to research design, evidence information, and prospective recommendations for related research.
The evaluated article describes research using a randomized experimental design. Participants were divided into two groups based on their BMI determination as being overweight or obese. Each group was randomly divided into two groups to receive combined manual acupuncture and massage therapy (MAMT) or only manual acupuncture therapy (MAT).
The strength of this research was that anthropometric data was collected daily during the trial to evaluate the maximal time for reduction of BW and BMI as opposed to typical obesity study designs that only compare the difference of these measurements at the start and end times of the trial (Abdi et al, 2012).
Several factors limit the value of the observed outcomes in this research including not testing a control group that received sham acupuncture, sham massage, and/or no treatment. Long-term effects of the treatment groups were not evaluated for statistical differences. Follow-up to evaluate remission risk was also not conducted. The treatment groups were small and limited to only women.
Obesity is approached from a biomedical perspective with a preventive strategy including integration of multiple interventions including lifestyle modification such as diet and physical activity. Despite this approach, worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly doubled from 1980 to 2008 (Seidell & Halberstadt, 2015). Additional medical therapies include pharmacological and surgical management of obesity.
A systematic review and meta-analysis favors acupuncture to lifestyle modification techniques like low-calorie diets, placebo treatment, and no treatment at all (Cho et al, 2009). Herbal supplementations are also used.
Obesity is becoming a growing global concern and has been closely linked to negative health impacts and a reduced quality of life (Bombak, 2014). Acupuncture can be used alone or with other interventions to provide beneficial outcomes when addressing obesity with few if any reported adverse effects. Further high-quality studies will be helpful to support acupuncture’s efficacy and determine its optimal use in the treatment of obesity.
References
Abdi H., Zhao B., Darbandi M., Ghayour-Mobarhan M., Tavallaie S., Rahsepar A.A., Parizadeh S.M., Safariyan M., Nemeti M., Mohammadi M., Abbasi, Parizad P., Darbandi S., Akhlaghi S., Ferns G.A. (2012). The effects of Acupuncture on Obesity: Anthropometric Parameters, Lipid Profile, and Inflammatory and Immunologic Markers. The Scientific World Journal, 2012, http://doi.org/10.1100/2012/603539
Bombak A. (2014). Obesity, health at every size, and public health policy. American Journal of Public Health, 104(2):e60-7. http://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301486
Cho S.H., Lee J.S., Thabane L., Lee J. (2009). Acupuncture for obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Obesity, 33, 183-196. http://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.269
He, J., Zhang, X., Qu, Y., Huang, H., Liu, X., Du, J., Guo, S. (2015). Effect of combined manual acupuncture and massage on body weight and body mass index reduction in obese and overweight women: A randomized, short-term clinical trial. Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, 8(2):61-65. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2014.08.001
Seidell J.C., Halberstadt J. (2015). The global burden of obesity and challenges of prevention. Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, 66(suppl 2):7-12. http://doi.org/10.1159/000375143