Ear seeds or diet? new study tests simple Weight-Loss tricks for kids
NCT ID NCT05847478
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study compares two non-drug approaches for helping obese children lose weight: ear acupressure (sticking tiny seeds on ear points) and an intermittent low-carbohydrate diet. Researchers will track changes in body weight and other health markers over three months in 240 children. The goal is to find a safe, easy-to-use method to improve heart health in kids with a specific traditional Chinese medicine pattern.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- auricular acupressure (ear seed patches) and intermittent low-carbohydrate diet
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, non-drug option for managing childhood obesity and related health risks.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with no blinding, so results may be influenced by placebo effects. The diet and acupressure require daily effort, and long-term weight loss is not guaranteed.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 240 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2023
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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6 to 18 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Have at least one of the following cardiometabolic risk factors: overweight or obesity, prediabetes, dyslipidemia or elevated blood pressure. * Traditional Chinese medical syndrome type is gastric heat and dampness obstruction syndrome. Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of obesity associated with genetic or endocrine diseases, including hypercortisolism, polycystic ovary syndrome, primary hypothyroidism and hypothalamic obesity. * Participating in other clinical trials or have participated in other clinical trials in recent 3 months. * Diagnosis of organic diseases, including heart, liver, kidney and brain or infectious diseases and mental diseases.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Children's Hospital of Fudan University
RECRUITINGShanghai, 201102, China
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