Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To systematically review published studies on the application of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of simple obesity in children and evaluate its effectiveness. METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in the Wanfang, CNKI, Chinese Biomedical Literature, VIP, Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for studies on the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion in treating simple obesity in children, published between December 2003 and October 2024. Primary clinical outcomes included blood lipids, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, weight-related indicators, clinical effects, leptin, body fat-related indicators, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes. Data were extracted and summarized, and a meta-analysis was performed using Revman 5.3 software and Stata 13.1. RESULTS: A total of 20 studies met the inclusion criteria, all involving acupuncture and moxibustion therapy. Compared with the control group, acupuncture and moxibustion significantly reduced total cholesterol (TC) (SMD = -0.53; 95% CI: -0.95 to -0.12, P<0.0001, I(2) = 87.3%), triglyceride (TG) (SMD = -0.27; 95% CI: -0.54 to -0.01, P = 0.002, I(2) = 66.7%), and fasting blood glucose levels (SMD = -0.61; 95% CI: -1.08 to -0.13, I(2) = 82.2%, P = 0.001). Compared to metformin group, semaglutide combined with metformin led to significant reductions in body mass indexes (BMI) (SMD = -0.49, 95% CI: -0.80 to -0.18, I(2) = 81%). Additionally, acupuncture treatment resulted in a decrease in TCM syndrome scores compared to control therapy (SMD = -1.49; 95% CI = -2.73 to 0.25; I(2) = 96.4%, P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for simple obesity in children significantly reduced fasting blood glucose, waist circumference, TCM syndromes score, BMI and lipid levels.