Effectiveness of Integrative and Complementary Practice in Health as a Strategy in Obesity Treatment

Considering the low cost, benefits and applicability of auriculotherapy in the integral care of the individual, as well as the remaining gap regarding studies involving the practice of auriculotherapy in obese patients with a representative sample, this study will be conducted with The objective of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of auriculotherapy associated with dietary education in reducing weight in obese patients.

The study will be performed at the nutrition laboratory III of the University of Pernambuco (UPE) Petrolina campus, with users previously diagnosed with obesity. This is a simple-blind Randomized Clinical Trial, with 3 groups: control group (will receive individualized dietary plan - alimentary reeducation and micropore containing a point made with a black gel pen that will be placed in the ear); auriculotherapy group (will receive individualized diet plan - diet reeducation and auricular therapy method with strategic points for obesity) and placebo group (will receive individualized diet plan - diet reeducation and sham points, points not indicative for the proposed treatment).

Will be included in the study all adult patients of both sexes in the age of 20 years complete for 44 incomplete years, who meet the eligibility criteria.

• Inclusion criteria: All adult patients seeking treatment for weight loss in August 2019 at the UPE and who agree to participate in the study by signing the Informed Consent Form (ICF). - Exclusion criteria: Pregnant women, patients who are treated with obesity secondary to some pathology and need previous treatment for hormonal control, or have not properly completed or signed the informed consent form.

The sample size was estimated by the EPI INFO software, version 3.5.1. For the calculation it was considered that 20% of adults are obese and 30% have adequate nutritional status, assuming a relative risk of 1.5 to be obese, for a significance level of 95% (1-alpha) and a power value. 80% (1-alpha) with the ratio of unexposed / exposed being 1: 1. . The estimated value of the sample was 36 adults in each group, and the total sample 108, adding 10% in each group to compensate for any losses, resulted in a final sample of 120 individuals, with no 40 participants per group.