Hypnosis for weight loss and acupuncture: do they really work?

Does hypnosis work for weight loss? What the trials show

Hypnosis for weight loss may add a small benefit when it is combined with a normal eating and activity programme, but the evidence is weak and the extra kilos are few. Used alone, it has not been shown to produce lasting weight loss in people living with obesity.

That answer is less exciting than the claims on many clinic websites. So let us look at what was actually measured, and in whom.

We are not doctors, and this page is general information, not personal advice. Talk to your doctor first before you start any new treatment or plan, especially if you have a mental health condition, diabetes, heart disease or take daily medicines.

What the pooled studies say

The largest analysis, by Milling and colleagues, combined 14 studies that compared hypnosis with usual care or no treatment. A second set of 11 studies compared a behavioural programme with and without hypnosis added.

On paper the results look good. A later overview of 49 hypnosis reviews describes large effects against control groups, and small effects against cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) alone at the end of treatment that grew larger at follow-up.

Look closer, though. Not all of these studies were randomised, many groups were small, and the average hypnosis course lasted about six and a half weeks. A narrative review of hypnosis and mindfulness for obesity concluded that the evidence for hypnosis as a way to lose weight is scarce.

A lesson in numbers that shrank

Older claims show why caution matters. An early, widely quoted analysis reported that adding hypnosis to CBT made a dramatic difference to weight loss.

Two other researchers checked the same six studies and found transcription and calculation errors. After correcting them, the advantage became small, and once one doubtful study was removed it was no longer statistically significant.

Their conclusion was blunt: adding hypnosis to CBT gives, at most, a small extra improvement.

What randomised trials in people with obesity found

A few better-designed trials give a clearer picture. In each one, every participant also received advice on food and exercise, so hypnosis was tested as an extra, not as a replacement.

One detail in the Italian trial deserves attention. People who practised self-hypnosis regularly lost more weight than those who rarely did.

That sounds hopeful, but it does not prove hypnosis caused it. People who stick with any daily routine tend to be the ones who also stick with their meals and walks.

What happens in hypnotherapy for weight loss, and is it safe?

In hypnotherapy for weight loss, a practitioner guides you into a deeply relaxed, focused state and then offers suggestions about eating, hunger or stress. Serious harms are rare, but the treatment can stir up strong feelings, and it is no substitute for medical care.

A typical session

Clinical hypnosis looks nothing like a stage show. You are awake, usually sitting in a chair, and you can open your eyes or stop at any moment.

A session often starts with a talk about your eating habits and goals. The practitioner then leads you through slow breathing and imagery, gives suggestions such as feeling satisfied with smaller portions, and brings you back to normal alertness.

Many practitioners also teach self-hypnosis, a short routine you repeat at home. In the Italian trial described above, regular home practice went with better results.

What about the “virtual gastric band”?

Some clinics sell a “gastric band” programme in which you imagine having weight-loss surgery while hypnotised. The idea is that your mind will act as if your stomach has become smaller.

The only controlled pilot study we found compared it with ordinary relaxation hypnosis in 30 people. Weight results ranged widely in both groups, and there was no significant difference between the two.

A virtual band is not surgery and has none of its medical follow-up. If you are thinking about real weight-loss surgery, that is a conversation for your doctor.

Safety: who should be careful

Across 49 reviews of medical hypnosis, harms were rarely reported. The few that were included brief dizziness after a session and one panic attack that led someone to stop.

Hypnosis can bring up painful memories or emotions. If you live with trauma, a dissociative condition, psychosis, severe depression or an eating disorder, talk to your doctor or mental health team before you try it.

Keep taking your medicines as prescribed. No hypnotherapist should tell you to stop them or to skip a medical check-up.

Apps, recordings and cost

Weight loss is the most common goal of hypnosis apps. One review of 407 hypnosis apps found that almost a quarter were aimed at weight loss, yet none of them reported being tested in research.

In-person hypnotherapy is usually paid for privately, often as a course of several sessions. Ask for the total price in writing before you start, and be wary of large up-front packages.

Can hypnosis help with cravings and emotional eating?

Hypnosis may ease the urge to eat on impulse for some people, but this rests on very few trials. It is better seen as a possible relaxation tool than as a treatment for emotional eating.

The French HYPNODIET trial is the strongest result so far. Adults who often lost control around food reported much less of this after eight months of hypnosis plus self-hypnosis: about two-thirds had normal scores, against about one in nine without hypnosis.

The Italian self-hypnosis trial also found people felt fuller after meals. Yet in both trials the difference in weight was small or absent.

If stress, sadness or boredom often send you to the fridge, our page on emotional eating explains practical steps you can start today. If you eat large amounts while feeling out of control, please talk to your doctor, because that can be binge eating disorder and it responds well to proper treatment.

Does acupuncture help with weight loss?

Acupuncture on its own has not been shown to help people lose weight, but when it is added to diet and exercise, trials report a small extra loss of around one to two kilos over a few weeks. The quality of most of these trials is low.

What the reviews found

A review in Obesity Reviews pooled 27 trials with 2,219 people. Acupuncture plus lifestyle change worked better than lifestyle change alone, and somewhat better than fake acupuncture plus lifestyle change.

The same review found that acupuncture alone was no better than sham needling or no treatment at all. It also seemed to work only in people with overweight, a BMI of 25 to 30, and not in people with obesity, a BMI of 30 or more.

A second review looked only at trials that compared real with sham acupuncture: eight trials, 403 people. Real acupuncture gave about 1.85 kg more weight loss, and the authors themselves called for longer, more rigorous studies.

Why the biggest review is the most sobering

A systematic review of supplements and alternative therapies for weight loss found 45 randomised acupuncture trials. Only two of them were judged to have a low risk of bias.

Those two trials either showed no significant difference or did not report one. The rest mostly followed people for three to 24 weeks, so we know almost nothing about whether any loss lasts.

Ear seeds, ear acupuncture and acupressure: worth trying?

Ear seeds, ear acupuncture and ear acupressure lead to a very small drop in weight on average, too small to change your health. They are cheap and low-risk, but they are not a weight-loss method.

Ear seeds are tiny seeds or metal beads taped to points on the outer ear. You press them during the day, often when you feel hungry. Ear acupuncture uses very fine needles in the same area, and electrical versions also exist.

A review of 15 trials with 1,333 people found an average extra loss of about 0.66 kg and a slightly smaller waist. The reviewers concluded that the size of the effect does not appear to be clinically relevant.

Side effects in these trials were minor. If you try seeds anyway, check your skin daily for redness or soreness, and take them off if it appears, especially if you live with diabetes.

Is acupuncture safe, and what does it cost?

Acupuncture is one of the safer treatments in medicine when a trained, licensed practitioner uses sterile, single-use needles. Serious harm is rare, and most side effects are mild and short-lived.

A review of prospective studies found that about 9 in 100 people had at least one side effect during a course of treatment. Half were bleeding, pain or a flare at the needle site; serious events occurred in about 1 per 10,000 patients.

Problems arise mainly when needles are not sterile or treatment is done badly. Then acupuncture can cause infections, a punctured organ or injury to the nervous system, which is why the training of the person holding the needle matters.

Check with your doctor first if you

• take blood thinners or have a bleeding disorder
• are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
• have a pacemaker or other implant, especially before electro-acupuncture
• live with diabetes, poor circulation or a weakened immune system, because skin infections heal more slowly
• are afraid of needles or tend to faint

Cost differs widely by country. Health insurance sometimes covers acupuncture, but often only for certain conditions such as pain, so a weight-loss course is usually paid out of pocket.

Most weight-loss trials followed people for only a few weeks to a few months. Nobody knows how many sessions, if any, would keep weight off in the long term.

Why the evidence is weak: small, short and hard-to-blind trials

The evidence for hypnosis and acupuncture is weak because most trials are small, end after a few weeks, and cannot easily hide from people which treatment they got. Each of these problems tends to make a therapy look better than it really is.

• Small trials. With 30 to 60 people, a lucky result can look impressive, and small negative trials are less likely to be published.
• Short follow-up. A loss after eight weeks says little about where your weight will be in a year.
• Hard to blind. You know whether you are being hypnotised. Sham acupuncture helps, but people can often still tell.
• Expectation and attention. Regular sessions with a caring practitioner can change habits by themselves.
• Motivated volunteers. People who sign up for a hypnosis trial often believe in it and practise more.

The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health notes that, in pain research, acupuncture looks much better against no treatment than against sham needling. Part of the benefit comes from belief, the practitioner relationship and other non-specific effects.

None of this means the people who feel helped are imagining it. It does mean that a calm hour, a kind practitioner and new hope are doing a lot of the work, and you can find those things in cheaper and better-proven ways.

What works better for your mind: habits, support and psychological help

The mental side of weight loss is real, and the best-tested help for it is behavioural support and cognitive behavioural therapy, combined with filling food and regular walking. These approaches have far more and far larger trials behind them than hypnosis or acupuncture.

A Cochrane review of psychological treatments for overweight and obesity included 36 trials with nearly 3,500 adults. When CBT was added to a food and exercise programme, people lost about 4.9 kg more than with food and exercise alone.

The same review found that more intensive behavioural support led to more weight loss. Hypnotherapy was tested in only a small number of studies, and the authors judged those approaches less rigorously evaluated.

A simple plan for the mental side

Talk to your doctor first, then try these steps one at a time:

1. Notice your triggers. For one week, jot down when you eat without being hungry and what happened just before.
2. Make one if-then plan. For example: “If I feel stressed after work, I walk around the block before I open the fridge.”
3. Use a relaxation habit you already have. Slow breathing, prayer, music or a short walk can calm you down without a fee.
4. Track one thing beyond the scale, such as steps or how your clothes fit. Our page on weight loss motivation shows how.
5. Ask for professional help if your eating feels out of control. Read about psychological support for obesity and what a psychologist can offer.

For the food side, our step-by-step guide on how to lose weight is a good next read. For movement, start with walking for weight loss, even if you can only manage a few minutes today.

How to choose a practitioner and spot red flags

If you still want to try hypnosis or acupuncture, choose a qualified, registered practitioner who sees it as an extra to your normal care and is honest about the limited evidence. Walk away from anyone who promises a fixed number of kilos.

Questions to ask before you book

• What is your training, and are you registered or licensed with a professional body?
• For acupuncture: do you use sterile, single-use needles, and do you take a medical history first?
• For hypnosis: are you also trained in psychology or another health profession?
• How many sessions do you suggest, and what is the total cost?
• Will you work alongside my doctor and my current eating and walking plan?

Red flags

• Guarantees such as “lose 10 kg in a month” or “never feel hungry again”.
• Selling pills, teas, powders or patches as part of the treatment.
• Large prepaid packages with pressure to sign up today.
• Advice to stop your medicines or to skip your doctor.
• Claims that it replaces surgery, diet or exercise.
• Reused needles or a session without washing hands or wiping skin.

Many of the same warning signs apply to other quick fixes. Our pages on weight loss myths and weight loss gadgets check the most popular ones. If you want structured help instead, our guide to a free weight loss program explains what a good one includes.

Not sure where to start locally? Our page on finding help lists the kinds of professionals who can support you.

How Obesity Foundation helps you lose weight without quick fixes

Obesity Foundation is a non-profit, and all of our help is free. We help people lose weight with good food, suitable exercise and walking, at a pace you can keep.

• Request your free eating plan with filling everyday meals and a shopping list.
• Get the free workout videos in three levels, Start, Build and Strong, beginning gently.
• Book a free video meeting (in English) to talk about a therapy you are curious about, or where to begin.
• Join the free Obesity Foundation Club to track your walks and progress.

Our advice is general and does not replace your own doctor. If you are wondering whether hypnosis or acupuncture is worth it for you, bring this page to your next appointment and decide together.