Ear stapling: A risky and unproven procedure for appetite suppression and weight loss

by Leslie K. Winter, MD and Jeffrey H. Spiegel, MD, FACS | Friday, January 01, 2010

Introduction Approximately 127 million adults in the United States are considered overweight, with roughly half of those people qualifying as obese (body mass index >30).1 In fact, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States despite $30 to 50 billion spent annually on weight loss programs, products, and schemes.1,2 Increasingly, these have come to include conchal bowl acupuncture. Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine wherein solid (not hollow) needles are inserted into the body at specific points with the intent of restoring balance to the flow of energy, or chi, within the body. Chi is said to flow along channels (called meridians) within the body, and any imbalance in flow is said to result in a disease state. Meridians and specific treatment points are displayed on anatomic maps that an acupuncturist may consult in developing a treatment plan for a given malady. While acupuncture has been practiced in China for thousands of .../continued/

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