Tuesday
Jun092009
Tue, June 9, 2009 | Lisa Barger Ear Stapling For Weight Loss
“Can you really lose weight by stapling your ears?”
Possibly. A 2003 study of fewer than a two dozen women found that ear stapling did increase the amount of weight lost. But as your own common sense will tell you, there’s more to losing weight than sticking a piece of metal wire into your ear.
Using a small piece of stainless steel wire, a practitioner applies the “staple” to the inner cartilage of the ear. The staple, which is left in place for months at a time, supposedly work by applying pressure to the ears’ “reflex” point.
Practitioners claim that this pressure signals the brain in such a way that it tricks the brain into making you feel full.
Eventually your brain gets used to the pressure and begins to ignore the stimulus. At this point, the staple should be removed and repositioned.
Can Ear Staples Really Help You Lose Weight?
There have been a few studies that found ear stapling effective at reducing appetite but ear stapling alone hasn’t been proven to help you actually lose weight. Even the study mentioned earlier, in which women lost weight with staples, used a reduced calorie diet and exercise as part of the overall weight-loss plan.
Could Ear Stapling For Weight Loss Be Dangerous?
One potential problem with ear stapling is that in many jurisdictions, the procedure—even when used for medical problems like obesity—is unregulated. While infection is possible whether a procedure is legally regulated or not, it only stands to reason that it might be more likely if the person performing the procedure is unaware of the importance of using good, clean practices. And, cases of infection have already been documented in medical literature.
This was the point of State Representative Chester Masterson who lobbied in his home state of Virginia to have ear stapling legally defined as a form of acupuncture.
References:
Morgan, A. (2008). Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection due to acupunctural ear stapling. American Journal of Infection Control.
Possibly. A 2003 study of fewer than a two dozen women found that ear stapling did increase the amount of weight lost. But as your own common sense will tell you, there’s more to losing weight than sticking a piece of metal wire into your ear.
Using a small piece of stainless steel wire, a practitioner applies the “staple” to the inner cartilage of the ear. The staple, which is left in place for months at a time, supposedly work by applying pressure to the ears’ “reflex” point.
Practitioners claim that this pressure signals the brain in such a way that it tricks the brain into making you feel full.
Eventually your brain gets used to the pressure and begins to ignore the stimulus. At this point, the staple should be removed and repositioned.
Can Ear Staples Really Help You Lose Weight?
There have been a few studies that found ear stapling effective at reducing appetite but ear stapling alone hasn’t been proven to help you actually lose weight. Even the study mentioned earlier, in which women lost weight with staples, used a reduced calorie diet and exercise as part of the overall weight-loss plan.
Could Ear Stapling For Weight Loss Be Dangerous?
One potential problem with ear stapling is that in many jurisdictions, the procedure—even when used for medical problems like obesity—is unregulated. While infection is possible whether a procedure is legally regulated or not, it only stands to reason that it might be more likely if the person performing the procedure is unaware of the importance of using good, clean practices. And, cases of infection have already been documented in medical literature.
This was the point of State Representative Chester Masterson who lobbied in his home state of Virginia to have ear stapling legally defined as a form of acupuncture.
References:
Morgan, A. (2008). Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection due to acupunctural ear stapling. American Journal of Infection Control.
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