Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture for Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

INTRODUCTION: Obesity poses an important public health concern globally, requiring effective and safe interventions. Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine therapy, is increasingly used to address various health conditions, including obesity. Previous systematic reviews have examined acupuncture for obesity, but none have comprehensively synthesized evidence from both English and non-English-language databases with rigorous methodological assessment. This review addresses this gap by providing an updated synthesis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating acupuncture's effectiveness and safety for obesity management. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The primary goal of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of various acupuncture treatments; it includes acupressure, auricular acupuncture, auricular acupressure, and more treatments for obesity. Specifically, we aimed to determine whether these acupuncture therapies are as effective as placebos or traditional treatments for weight loss. Additionally, we aimed to systematically assess the safety profile of acupuncture by examining the types and frequency of adverse events reported across trials. METHOD: statistics. The certainty of evidence was evaluated using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) methodology. RESULTS: = 120). Risk ratios (RRs) for obesity remission favored acupuncture over lifestyle interventions (RR = 2.57, 95% CI: 1.98-3.34, six studies) and medications (RR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.12-7.20, four studies). Only one trial reported adverse events systematically, documenting mild effects in 16.7% of acupuncture participants versus 42.9% in the medication group. GRADE assessment indicated low to moderate certainty of evidence due to risk of bias and imprecision. CONCLUSION: Current evidence suggests acupuncture may provide modest benefits for weight loss compared with lifestyle interventions or placebo treatments, with a favorable safety profile compared with medications. However, the low to moderate certainty of evidence due to methodological limitations prevents definitive conclusions. Acupuncture should be considered as a complementary rather than primary intervention for obesity management, pending more rigorous research. Well-designed RCTs with standardized protocols, longer follow-up periods, and systematic adverse event reporting are urgently needed.