South Korean researchers have found an easy way to shed holiday weight or body fat. No, they are not recommending any new kind of diet chart or exercise regime, but suggesting you prick your ears.

Researchers at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea have found ear acupuncture (auricular acupuncture therapy) to be effective in weight loss. Obese participants were able to reduce their Body Mass Index (BMI) by six percent within eight weeks. Plus, they had low body fat and a smaller waist.

One of the various treatments relating to ear acupuncture administered during the study involves inserting needles 2mm deep on five points around the outer ear and a second one just targets a single spot called the 'hunger' point.

The auricular acupuncture therapy is based on the fact that the outer ear represents all parts of the body. Dr Paul Nogier from France first used the treatment in 1956 to cure a patient's backache.

For the study, researchers asked 91 overweight adults to follow a restrictive diet, one that is not intended to slim down, and also forbade them from engaging in any form of physical activity for two months (observation period). Among the participants, a third of them were given the five point treatment, 30 people were assigned the 'hunger point' method, while the rest (15) were given a 'sham' treatment.

The researchers found that, participants, who belonged to the first group, saw their BMI go down by six percent, while people in the one-point group were able to reduce their BMI by 5.7 percent. Those, who were given the five-point treatment, were able to shed the 'spare tyre' more effectively than the other participants.

The finding has been published online in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine.

Previous studies suggested that traditional methods increase metabolic rate but cause hormone imbalance and suppresses appetite by releasing natural painkillers.

Many experts said that the findings were unreliable.

"It is hard to think of a treatment that is less plausible than ear acupuncture. Consulting an acupuncturist will reduce your cash but not your body weight," Edzard Ernst, a professor of complementary medicine at Exeter University, said, Daily Mail reports.

Topics South korea, Exercise