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Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), a device that analyzes the current conduction differences between the fat and water components is widely used for reasons that include convenience of use, non-invasiveness, safety, and low cost. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) allows for the assessment of total body and regional lean and fat tissues and bone mineral content (BMC). The objective of this study was to compare body composition assessments by BIA and DXA before and after a 6-week herbal diet intervention program in 50 pre-menopausal women [mean ± SD: age 30.58 ± 6.15, body mass index (BMI) 31.72 ± 3.78]. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was measured by BIA and anthropometry. Lean body mass (LBM), body fat (BF), BMC and percent body fat (%BF) were measured by BIA and DXA. Highly significant correlations were observed between BIA and DXA measurements for LBM, BF, BMC and %BF (r = 0.73, 0.93, 0.53, 0.79, respectively) before the intervention. Differences between BIA and DXA measurements were observed in LBM, BF, %BF and BMC before intervention (p < 0.01) where WHR by BIA was significantly higher compared to anthropometry before (p < 0.01) and after the intervention (p < 0.01). BIA underestimated LBM by 1.85 kg and overestimated BF by 2.54 kg compared to DXA before the intervention. Although BIA and DXA showed highly significant correlations for LBM, BF, BMC and %BF before the intervention, they did not produce statistically comparable results in pre-menopausal Korean women and therefore should not be used interchangeably when measuring body composition.

This study aims to investigate the role of changes in leptin and beta endorphin (BE) levels in weight loss following electroacupuncture (EA) application in obesity treatment. EA was applied to 20 females who were 41.45 ± 4.71 years old and had a body mass index of 36.00 ± 2.66; and a diet program was applied to 20 females who were 42.30 ± 4.35 years old and had a body mass index of 34.90 ± 3.21. There was a 4.5% weight reduction in the patients with EA application, whereas patients on diet restriction had a 3.1% weight reduction. A decrease of loss of body weight was observed in the EA group (p < 0.000) when compared against the diet restricted group. A decrease of serum leptin levels (p < 0.000) and an increase in the serum BE (p < 0.05) levels were observed in the EA group compared to the diet restricted group. In this study, reduced serum leptin levels paralleling to weight loss were observed in the EA group. Furthermore, it is thought that in the EA applied group, increasing serum BE level probably enhanced the lipolitic activity which may have caused weight loss in obese people by mobilizing energy stores. It may be considered that the EA application with diet restriction in obesity treatment is more effective than the diet restriction alone.

Our purpose was to investigate the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) therapy on body weight and on levels of serum insulin, c-peptide and glucose in obese women. 52 healthy women were included in this study and were allocated into three groups: 1) Placebo EA group (n = 15; mean age = 41.8 ± 4.6 and mean body mass index {BMI} = 33.2 ± 3.5); 2) EA group (n = 20; mean age = 42.1 ± 4.4 and BMI = 35.9 ± 3.6) and 3) Diet restriction group (n = 20; mean age = 42.9 ± 4.3 and BMI = 34.7 ± 2.7). EA was applied to the ear points Hunger and Shen Men on alternating days and to the body points LI 4, LI 11, St 36 and St 44 once a day for 30 minutes over 20 days. Diet restriction that entailed a 1450 kilocalorie (kcal) diet program was applied to the three groups for 20 days. An increase in weight loss was observed when weight loss in the EA group (p < 0.000) was compared to that in the diet restricted and placebo EA groups using the Tukey HSD test. There were increases in the serum insulin (p < 0.001) and c-peptide levels (p < 0.000) in the women treated with EA compared to those in the women treated with the placebo EA and diet restriction groups. A decrease was observed in the glucose levels (p < 0.01)in both the EA and diet restriction groups compared to those in the placebo EA group. Our results suggest that EA therapy is an effective method in treating obesity. EA therapy also helps serum glucose levels to decrease through the increase of serum insulin and c-peptide levels.

In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of electroacupuncture treatment on lipoprotein A, apolipoprotein A and apolipoprotein B levels in obese subjects. Fifty-eight women were studied in 3 groups as follows: 1) Placebo acupuncture (n = 15; mean age = 41.47 ± 4.61, and mean body mass index {BMI} = 33.43 ± 3.10); 2) Electroacupuncture (EA) (n = 20; mean age = 40.55 ± 5.30, and BMI = 35.65 ± 3.84) and 3) Diet restriction groups (n = 23; mean age = 42.91 ± 4.02, and BMI = 34.78 ± 3.29). EA was performed using the ear points, Hungry, Shen Men and Stomach the body points, Hegu (LI 4), Quchi (LI 11), Tianshu (St 25), Zusanli (St 36), Neiting (St 44) and Taichong (Liv 3) for 20 days. Intragroup comparisons were made by using paired samples t-test whereas intergroup differences were investigated by the two-way variation analysis and LSD test. There was a 4.7% (p < 0.001) weight reduction in patients with electroacupuncture application, whereas patients in diet restriction had a 2.9% (p < 0.001) weight reduction. There were significant decreases in lipoprotein A (p < 0.05) and apolipoprotein B (p < 0.05) levels in the EA compared to the control group and no changes in apolipoprotein A levels was observed in EA, diet and placebo acupuncture groups. EA therapy may be a useful approach for the treatment of obesity for both losing weight and lowing the risk factors for cardiovascular disease associated with obesity, since this application may decrease the plasma lipoprotein A and apolipoprotein B levels.