New information on weight loss at home and abroad (from computerized acupuncture to dieting and longevity secrets)

Appendix 1: A Collection of the Latest Domestic and International Information on Weight Loss

(I) Inputting acupuncture weight loss method into the computer

Dr. Fei Jiuzhi, Vice President of Jinxi City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Liaoning Province, has developed an acupuncture weight loss method based on the fundamental theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the mechanisms of acupuncture. He has relieved the suffering of many obese patients in Kuwait, with one patient losing 32 kilograms after three months of treatment. To address the difficulty of accessing treatment for obese patients across the country, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine collaborated with Jinxi City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital to input Dr. Fei Jiuzhi's acupuncture weight loss therapy into a computer system. Outpatient verification on 239 cases, with a course of treatment consisting of 8 acupuncture sessions over 20-30 days, showed that 64% of patients lost more than 2 kilograms, with the largest weight loss being 15 kilograms.

(II) Dieting and Weight Loss Secrets of Centenarians Abroad

In his 1958 book, *The Reliable Secrets of Longevity and Fitness*, Italian scholar Cornelius proposed the theory of "dietary prolongation." He himself strictly adhered to dietary principles, consuming only 360 grams of solid food and 400 grams of liquid beverages daily, resulting in a lifespan of over 100 years. At the age of 83, he was still able to ride horses, climb mountains, and write. American scientist Sheldon, who ran a fitness school for 40 years starting in 1928, helped tens of thousands of patients recover their health through dietary adjustments. Soviet professor Pitzkhrauri, in his 1975 book, *The Longevity of the Caucasians*, established the dietary principle of "moderate food intake" for centenarians.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that dieting can help with weight loss, addressing the root cause. The fundamental reason for obesity is that intake exceeds expenditure. Comparing reducing intake with increasing expenditure, the former is more direct, effective, convenient, and economical. As stated in the *Taiping Yulan*: "When the qi of grains surpasses the vital qi, the person is obese but short-lived; when the vital qi surpasses the qi of grains, the person lives long but is thin. The remedy for health is to always reduce the qi of grains, thus preventing illness." Therefore, obese individuals must reduce their staple food intake (grain qi) to strengthen their vital qi (the essence of the internal organs) in order to hope to achieve weight loss and longevity.

(III) Fat City's Weight Loss Plan

Fort Wells is known as a "fat city" in the United States, with most of its residents being obese or overweight. Many suffer from obesity-related diseases such as high cholesterol, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Recently, the city's residents decided to collectively lose weight over a two-year period. They devised a weight-loss diet and a series of appropriate exercises, determined to shed the city's negative reputation.

(iv) Weight loss can lower blood lipids and blood cholesterol.

Obesity, as a breeding ground for hyperlipidemia, is widely accepted. The Metabolic Disease Clinic of the Beijing Social Medical Department has achieved positive results in weight loss training classes for adults and children by applying its self-developed comprehensive treatment method, including a specially prepared herbal lipid-lowering tea, weight loss exercise, and nutritional and dietary adjustments. For example, in 1989, a study of 63 obese individuals (over 40%) in the fourth training class held at the Yantai Air Force Sanatorium revealed abnormalities in blood cholesterol and blood lipids in 26 individuals. After seven days of weight loss treatment, all but two participants showed varying degrees of reduction in blood cholesterol and blood lipids: 15 cases achieved normal blood cholesterol levels, 9 cases achieved normal blood lipid levels, and 12 cases showed significant reductions. In a children's weight loss treatment class held in Beijing in February 1990, 11 out of 17 children had blood cholesterol ≥200 mg%, and 5 of them had abnormally high triglycerides. After 8 days of comprehensive weight loss treatment, all but 5 patients had their cholesterol levels return to normal. In terms of onset time, it generally takes anywhere from one week to one month, with most people's lab results returning to normal.

Furthermore, weight loss therapy is also effective in treating conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, and fatty liver caused by high blood lipids and high cholesterol, and can improve the symptoms of these conditions. From this perspective, weight loss is not only a treatment method but also an important method for health maintenance and prevention.

(v) Women should not eat a low-fat diet when trying to lose weight.

Due to the popularity of weight loss therapies, people often misunderstand the terminology and believe that a low-fat diet can reduce or even completely control obesity and hyperlipidemia. In this context, a low-fat diet seems to be a guarantee of health and beauty, and many people, especially women, are happy to follow it, some even eating fat-free foods. In fact, this is unscientific.

Recently, the British medical journal *The Lancet* published an article reporting that an expert from Bowman Green School of Medicine stated, "A large body of research data on the link between diet and heart disease in male subjects suggests that cholesterol is both beneficial and harmful, but this differs from the case in women." Lowered high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels can increase the risk of heart disease in women, therefore women should include a certain amount of fat in their daily diet.

Scientific experiments have found that corn oil and olive oil are rich in monounsaturated fats, which can lower low-density lipoprotein and raise high-density lipoprotein, making them ideal edible oils for weight loss and fitness.

(vi) Weight loss exercise therapy should be controlled in intensity.

The basic treatments for obesity are exercise therapy and diet therapy. However, the intensity, duration, safety, and effectiveness of exercise therapy remain unclear. To address this, Professor Sakuya Sakae of the Center for Comprehensive Health and Sports Science at Nagoya University, Lecturer Kunio Yamanouchi of the Department of Internal Medicine at Aichi University, and Takashi Shinozaki, among others, conducted research. They proposed that exercise therapy involves breaking down neutral fats in adipose tissue through exercise, producing free fatty acids that are then consumed as a highly efficient source of energy.

The Aichi University Sports Medicine Center proposes the following exercise therapy plan: exercise intensity of 40-60% of maximum exercise capacity; two and a half hours of exercise per session, consuming 240-300 kcal of energy; exercise more than 3 times a week.

Specific exercise content includes: 1. Dynamic whole-body exercises (aerobic exercises) aimed at improving overall physical strength and endurance, such as cycling, swimming and water walking, jogging, rope skipping, etc.; 2. Static exercises such as resistance training with resistance bands aimed at improving muscle strength and endurance; 3. Stretching gymnastics including warm-up and cool-down exercises.

Cycling and swimming are low-impact exercises for the knees and feet, making them suitable for obese individuals. It's important to note that the exercises should be varied to prevent boredom. Individuals with hypertension or coronary heart disease should avoid the second exercise to prevent increased heart rate and blood pressure.

Before starting any exercise program, a physical examination should be conducted to confirm that you are fit to participate in exercise before developing an exercise plan and weight loss goals. A follow-up examination should be conducted every 3 months to revise the exercise plan accordingly.

Why is it important to control the intensity of exercise therapy? Lecturer Yamanouchi offers the following explanation:

During exercise, a significant amount of energy is consumed by contractile muscles, resulting in the production of glucose and free fatty acids in the bloodstream to meet energy demands. The choice between glucose and free fatty acids is determined by four factors: the duration and intensity of muscle contraction, training intensity, and nutritional status. For example, in light, prolonged exercise, fat is primarily used for energy consumption; as intensity increases, glucose utilization also increases; at maximum intensity, almost only glucose is consumed. Therefore, weight loss should aim to burn fat and requires a certain amount of light exercise.