Can acupuncture help to lose weight?

It is important to remember that acupuncture is specifically not a one to one medicine like western medicine. The fact that someone is obese does not simply mean they need to lose weight. There are certainly a number of people claiming they have specific weight loss protocols, or protocols for other conditions as well (fertility, depression, etc.). In reality, there are some point combinations and methodologies that appear to work well on a broad range of cases, but with any case you need to come to a clear diagnosis in Chinese Medical terms and treat from that regardless of the condition. For obesity, people often have weight issues from underlying dysfunctions in their body (thyroid problems, depression, addictions, metabolism issues, diabetes, etc.). This variety of causes needs to be questioned and put into the overall equation of their health, lifestyle, etc. After doing this properly, a clear diagnosis will be made and treatment protocols will be utilized to remedy that pattern - not the condition.

Certainly diet and exercise are crucial and the age old formula - calories in and calories out - but there is often more going on with weight issues and properly applied Chinese Medicine can be extremely valuable so long as you treat the patient as an individual with a unique set of signs and symptoms not as someone with a specific "condition."