Obese Come to China to Take Jab at Weight Problem

[Guest guest]

Taken from Reuters: http://story.news./news?

tmpl=story & cid=571 & ncid=751 & e=1 & u=/nm/20030822/hl_nm/health_china_fat

_dc'

 

The macho workout motto conjures images of sweat and brawn but the

regime is somewhat pricklier at the Aimin Fat Reduction Hospital in

northern China, where the chronically obese from Europe to Oceania

come to poke away pounds with acupuncture.

 

" Ah, ahhh, okay, okay, okay! " yelps Singaporean Zaidah Abu with a

snigger, as a Chinese acupuncturist wiggles a three-inch needle into

her fleshy arm.

 

Abu has posed for the Tianjin-based weight loss clinic's

advertisements this summer and, if you believe the ads, is the

latest proof the ancient medical practice nets results.

 

She tipped the scales at 330 lb when she checked in four and a half

months ago but has dropped 60 kg since. In exchange for her " before

and after " shots, Aimin waived the fee of around 4,000 yuan ($480) a

month customers pay for treatment, room and board.

 

Aimin workout sessions look almost effortless: acupuncture in the

morning and light dance aerobics in the afternoon, interspersed with

well-balanced meals and counselling.

 

But since the late 1990s, the clinic has been a leading brand in an

upstart industry popularizing Chinese medicine as a shortcut to slim

down.

 

Chinese medical theory traditionally holds that overweight people

have imbalanced digestive systems. And in the past two decades, the

ranks of the imbalanced have swelled with the country's booming

economy.

 

As fat cats gorge on dozen-course banquets and their children munch

on Kentucky Fried Chicken, entrepreneurial apothecaries are

concocting diet teas and tonics to help Chinese fight the battle of

the bulge.

 

Some clinical studies have discounted the role of acupressure,

acupuncture and reflexology in weight loss while doctors and

dieticians in the West have condemned sham practitioners of

hokum, " new age " treatments.

 

But Shi Lidong, director of the hospital, said hitting the right

pressure points can help redress the body's imbalance by stimulating

the metabolism and curbing the appetite.

 

" First, it effectively controls the desire for food and reduces

hunger. Second, it reduces the digestive system's ability to absorb

food, " he said. " At the same time it also speeds up the digestive

system's ability to break down fat. "

 

The former military hospital's most celebrated case was a 23-year-

old Chinese man who cut his weight from 215 kg in June 2000 to 90 kg

by September 2001.

 

Aimin, which means " love the people, " has 260 beds and treats around

200 foreign customers a year from places like Japan, Australia, New

Zealand, Russia and Switzerland.

 

The clinic has also opened branches in Thailand, Singapore and

Malaysia.

 

But many journey to the former British concession of Tianjin to

visit the original gurus.

 

Italian Luigi Fadda started treatment in Thailand and since coming

to Tianjin has lost five kg in two weeks. He said he had grown so

fat he could not sleep lying down and had to sit up through the

night.

 

" When you start to put on weight, all of the body starts to grow and

suddenly you cannot breathe. In my case, my chest started to be so

fat it was touching my system for breathing, " he said, fingering his

throat.

 

Besides a momentary prick and a little soreness, patients like Mr

Smith from Scotland say the treatment doesn't hurt much at all.

 

" I think if it is explained to a lot more people that acupuncture is

totally harmless, it's of great benefit, " said the man, his ear

riddled with plaster-covered puncture points. He had lost four kg in

two weeks.

 

" Unfortunately, our Western culture depicts needles as painful. "

 

Attilio