Table 1.

Characteristics of the included studies.

Included studies	Country	Number of participants  Trial Control		Interventions Trial Control		Basic treatment	Duration of treatment  (week)	Adverse reactions	Outcomes
Darbandi  et al., 2012 [9]	Iran	43	43	Auricular acupressure	Sham auricular	Low-calorie diet	6	None	BW, BMI, BFM, plasma leptin
Darbandi  et al., 2013 [10]	Iran	42	44	Electro-acupuncture	Sham acupuncture	Low-calorie diet	6	None	BM, BMI, BFM, plasma leptin
Darbandi  et al., 2014 [11]	Iran	20/20	20/20	Body electro-acupuncture/ Auricular acupuncture	Sham body electro-acupuncture/ sham Auricular acupuncture	Low-calorie diet	6	None	Height, WHR, BMI, trunk fat mass, Cr, Albumin, Uric acid, FBS, HLD-c, LDL-c, WBC, RBC
Gucel  et al., 2012 [12]	Turkey	20	20	Body acupuncture	Sham acupuncture	None	5	Not reported	Weight, BMI, insulin, leptin, ghrelin, cholecystokinin
Han-1, 2016 [13]	China	36	37	Body electro-acupuncture	No treatment	Dietary and exercise	4	2 Subcutaneous bleeding and hematoma	BMI, WC, hip circumference, WHR and spleen dampness improve the situation of symptom score
Han-2, 2016 [13]	China	40	41	Body electro-acupuncture	No treatment	Dietary and exercise	4	3 Subcutaneous bleeding and hematoma	BMI, WC, hip circumference, WHR and spleen dampness improve the situation of symptom score
He  et al., 2008 [14]	China	40	40	Body electro-acupuncture + Auricular acupuncture	Sibutramine	None	8	No reported	Body weight, BMI, waist and hip circumference and WHR
Hsu  et al., 2009 [15]	Taiwan	23	22	Auricular acupuncture	Shame auricular acupuncture	None	6	1 Minor inflammation, 8 mild tenderness	Body weight, BMI, WC, obesity-related hormone peptides
Hung  et al., 2016 [16]	Taiwan	32	30	Verum laser acupuncture	Sham laser acupuncture	None	3	None	BMI, BFP, waist-to-buttock ratio
Kim  et al., 2014 [17]	Korea	25	24	Auricular acupressure	No treatment	None	4	None	Weight, BMI, body fat mass percentage, WHR
Lien  et al., 2012 [18]	Taiwan	48	23	Auricular stimulation	Sham auricular acupuncture	None	8	1 dizziness	BMI, weight, obesity-related hormone peptids, life quality scores
Luo, 2006 [19]	China	40	20	Electro-acupuncture / only acupuncture	No treatment	None	3	Not reported	WHR, MBI, TC, TG, HDL-c, LDL-c, LEP, Adiponectin(ADI)
Nourshahi  et al., 2009 [20]	Iran	9	9	Acupuncture	No treatment/diet and exercise	Diet and exercise	8	Not reported	Body weight, skin fold thickness, BMI, fat mass
Tong, 2011 [21]	China	76	42	Acupuncture	Placebo-acupuncture	Diet	5	None	BMI, TC, TG, Glucose, BUN, Uric Acid and adverse reactions
Xing, 2009 [22]	China	31	30	Electroacupuncture	Diet and exercise	Diet and exercise	8	No reported	Body weight, BMI, TG, TC, LDL-c, HDL-c, WHR, Leptin
Xiong  et al., 2016 [23]	China	29	21	Acupuncture	Exercise	None	4	No reported	Body weight, BMI
Yeh  et al., 2015 [24]	Taiwan	36	34	Auricular electrical stimulation +auricular acupressure	Same manner but at sham acupoints	Diet	10	No reported	BMI, blood pressure, TC, TG, Leptin, Adiponectin
Yeo  et al., 2014 [25]	Korean	43	15	Ear acupuncture	Sham acupuncture	None	8	No reported	BMI, WC, weight, body fat mass (kg), percentage body fat and blood pressure
Zhang  et al., 2012 [26]	China	15	15	Electro-acupuncture	Sham Electro-acupuncture	None	4	1 Bleeding	Weight, BMI, body fat mass %
Zhang, 2012 [27]	China	29	28	Catgut embedded	No treatment	Diet and exercise	8	The bleeding rate was 18.75% in treatment group	Weight, BMI, waistline, hipline, circumference, quality of life
Zhao  et al., 2011 [28]	China	35	35	Electro-acupuncture	Sham Electro-acupuncture	None	4	No reported	BMI, Weight
Zhao, 2010 [29]	China	30	30	Electro-acupuncture	Diet and exercise	Diet and exercise	8	No reported	BMI, waist, FBS, 2hPG, FINS, 2hFINS