Acupuncture is used to treat many conditions. Is weight loss one?

You’ve tried seemingly everything to lose weight. Maybe you tested out the Mediterranean diet, started working out more or tried different supplements and products that promise fast relief. But what about acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a treatment rooted in Chinese medicine that entails a practitioner inserting fine needles into the skin to induce a therapeutic effect. Acupuncture works by targeting different points on the body, depending on the health issue, to stimulate the body’s energy flow (“chi”).

So does this practice work for weight loss? To find out, we talked to Derek Johnson, a licensed acupuncturist with the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of Cincinnati.

Can acupuncture help with weight loss?

Acupuncture won’t directly cause you to lose weight, according to Johnson. “In my experience and to my knowledge, acupuncture isn’t going to be the magic bullet for weight loss,” he says. However, Johnson explains it can play a very significant role in weight loss through an indirect approach. He says that this is because acupuncture can improve metabolism, reduce cravings and mitigate stressors on the body that affect one’s appetite. He adds that acupuncture can also improve gastrointestinal issues.

Does acupuncture for weight loss really work?

There is some skepticism around acupuncture’s effects. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine this is because research has yet to fully answer how acupuncture works from the point of view of Western medicine.

This applies to research on acupuncture and weight loss. Studies suggest that acupuncture may help people lose weight. But, according to Healthline, research is inconclusive because there isn’t certainty on whether a client’s weight loss stems from the acupuncture treatment or their positive attitude that leads them to make healthy choices.

What are the long-term effects of acupuncture on weight loss?

This positive attitude is something that Johnson stresses. “Acupuncture is only so strong,” he says. “It’s not going to make somebody who doesn’t want to do something all of a sudden do it.”

He explains that to see long-term changes in weight loss you need to commit to lifestyle changes. This includes changes in diet and exercise. Your acupuncturist can help you create a holistic treatment strategy that integrates lifestyle changes with acupuncture.

Teetering on committing to these lifestyle changes? Acupuncture may also help with that. “If it’s one of those people whose kind of on the edge of it, they’re really wanting to, they’re trying but they’re having these roadblocks,” says Johnson, “that is a great candidate [for acupuncture].”

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