AcuOne Appetite Control - back to clinical findings

Medical report

By Dr. Jean-François Piol and Dr. Vu-Dinh

For most, dieting can be a very stressful experience that leads to cravings and sleep disturbances which make it hard to keep motivated. This often leads to dieters giving up and regaining any weight they have lost in a cycle known as yo-yo dieting. Stress can also lead to snacking and comfort eating and thus its control is essential to successfully maintaining a weight loss programme.

A French doctor and professor of acupuncture has designed a device based on the principles of acupuncture to help those trying to lose weight. The AcuOne bracelet aims to reduce stress levels, sleep disturbances and cravings in order to keep dieters motivated to stick with their weight loss programme.

AcuOne works on the same basis as acupuncture, according to which the inside of the wrist comprises 7 points which can be stimulated on a combinatory basis. The geometric positioning of the stimulation electrodes corresponds to the anatomic position of these points and must correspond to a therapeutic configuration adapted to the patient’s complaint according to the points stimulated.

The acupuncture points for stimulated by AcuOne appetite control can be seen here.

AcuOne comes in the form of a light, discreet bracelet watch which is easy to wear. Its case contains a chip and it is activated by pressing the arrow on the case which flashes for 2 minutes. The button can be pressed as often as required, in response to cravings and increased stress levels. This bracelet watch can be used flexibly and autonomously. It reassures the user by its extremely high level of precision which is programmed and simulated by computer.

For customers who have tried everything in vain, AcuOne offers a new hope based on secular practices which are now scientifically proven and do not involve any risks or any other products.

AcuOne is presented as a new portable, autonomous acupuncture device.

AcuOne is a French product whose patent has been registered in France and abroad. It was awarded the bronze medal at the invention fair in Geneva, GMED certification, the CE label and FDA category I.

Methodology

The AcuOne devices were tested against a placebo in a double-blind situation using a sample of 200 women, half of whom were given an AcuOne device, the other half a device that looked identical but did not give off an electric discharge therefore being neutral and having no effect.
Each patient was required to use the device once per hour from when they woke up to when they went to sleep.

At the end of each month, for the duration of the six month trial, patients were required to be weighed and to complete a questionnaire about their experiences, their cravings, stress levels and motivation to stick to the diet.

Results

Weight loss

• Patients in the group using the genuine AcuOne device experienced an initial weight loss of 3 kilos, which increased to five kilos in the second and third months. The weight then stabilised during the last three months of the experiment to 6 kilos.
• In the first and second months, those in the group using the placebo device experienced almost identical levels of weight loss. However during the last four months, the weight loss dropped from 3 kilos to 1 kilo.

In conclusion, during the first two months, both groups lost about the same amount of weight, i.e. the placebo effect of the device worked perfectly. However, the therapeutic effect took over in the third month, because in the group using the AcuOne not only was the weight loss clear, but it increased until it reached 6 kilos in the sixth month. The weight lost by the group with the fake, placebo device however decreased, cancelling out the initial placebo effect.

Sleep disturbances

People on a diet using the AcuOne device expressed less frequent sleep disturbance than those not using the active AcuOne device. Once again, in accordance with the results obtained when testing the levels of stress in patients, it is noted that the psychological pressure of being on a diet is alleviated in those people using the AcuOne over the long term.

Stress levels

A diet creates anxiety because it is an additional stressor. People on a diet or adhering to dietetic measures feel they are being punished a little and it is frustrating to deny oneself food whilst others are eating. AcuOne has been designed to help prevent this stress which is often a cause of comfort eating and yo-yo dieting.

In the AcuOne group, stress levels began at 43 points and fell to as low as 10 points and stabilised at around 20 points. In comparison, the placebo group saw increases to 126 with a stabilised level of 57. It is thus concluded that being on a diet causes stress which can lead to diets being abandoned. AcuOne can however lower stress level to keep dieters committed to their weight loss programme.

Willpower

With AcuOne, after 6 months 80% of the patients continued to follow the dietetic measures prescribed by their doctor, whereas in the placebo group using the fake device, after 6 months, only 10% were still on the diet. Therefore, thanks to the AcuOne device, people on a diet have the willpower to continue on the mid-term.

Motivation

From the first to the sixth month, 100% of AcuOne users were ‘quite motivated’ or ‘very motivated’ to continue their diet. In comparison in the placebo group, the level of ‘quite to very motivated’ patients fell to just 18%.

Conclusion

The AcuOne has been shown to be effective in:

• Lowering stress levels
• Preventing sleep disturbances
• Keeping willpower strong and motivation high

In order to allow patients to lose weight and keep it off.

AcuOne keeps motivation fairly constant in people wishing to lose weight and after six months of investigating 80% of the patients in the AcuOne group continued to diet and maintained a weight loss of six kilos on average. In the placebo group, there was a progressive but certain drop not only in motivation but also in the initial weight loss; the classical yo-yo phenomenon.