An interventional study of Auricular acupressure plus smartphone App and Auricular acupressure in Obesity, Weight Loss and Mobile Application, sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Completed at 1 site in Hong Kong. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-02-22.
Sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Among 48 studies in Obesity with a site in Hong Kong — 19 open to participants now, 24 under way, 4 of them phase 3. Obesity · Hong Kong.
Among the 48 studies in Obesity with a site in Hong Kong, this one is the 35th largest by enrollment of the 46 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 4 that started in 2018, is one of 32 with no phase, and was the 11th registered.
11,522 studies on the registry are indexed under Obesity; 2,033 are open to participants now.
Browse Obesity studies →19 of the 48 studies in Obesity with a site in Hong Kong are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:
Chinese University of Hong Kong · Sites in Hong Kong
Chinese University of Hong Kong · Sites in Hong Kong
AstraZeneca · Sites in Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and 2 more countries
Amgen · Sites in Hong Kong, United States, Argentina and 32 more countries
The University of Hong Kong · Sites in Hong Kong
A study can be open while its sites in Hong Kong have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in Hong Kong →
Of the 1,336 Obesity studies recruiting now, 377 (28%) set no upper age limit and 856 (64%) stop at 75 or younger; 168 take children under 18; 491 take healthy volunteers.
This study: 18 Years and older · all sexes · healthy volunteers too.
The full table on the hub →This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
48 studies; the count open now beside each. This study's row is marked.
First in 2005; this study’s year is marked. 4 started in 2018.
By drug class, each counting the studies that test any of its medicines:
This study's enrollment of 59 is below the median of 67 across 9,006 interventional studies indexed under Obesity.
Median enrollment 234 across the 46 interventional studies, 265 across the 2 observational. Of the 17 that completed or were terminated, 3 (18%) have results posted.
This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
13 of 48 have an industry lead sponsor. The 10 most frequent:
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is the lead sponsor of 679 studies on the registry; 257 are open to participants now.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has 6 studies filed under Obesity — fewer than ten, so there is no comparison to draw.
6 of the studies in Obesity with a site in Hong Kong that are under way reach primary completion within a year, 0 of them phase 3. Phase 3 first, then by date:
| Study | Primary completion |
|---|---|
| NCT06833749KeyBioscience AGEfficacy and Safety of KBP-336 in Obese Individuals with Osteoarthritis | 2026-11 |
| NCT06996431The University of Hong KongAn Innovative Care Model Integrating Mobile Health Support to Promote Weight Management in Adults With Overweight or Obesity | 2026-12-16 |
| NCT06744933Tung Wah CollegeAuricular Acupressure Integrated With a Smartphone Application for Weight Reduction | 2026-12-31 |
| NCT06790329Chinese University of Hong KongESG with Fundal Mucosal Ablation | 2026-12-31 |
| NCT07770516Chinese University of Hong KongCognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia as an Adjunct to Time-restricted Eating on Weight Loss in Adults With Overweight or Obesity and Chronic Insomnia | 2027-06-30 |
Among the 48 studies in Obesity with a site in Hong Kong, from their registry updates:
This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
Obesity is a common global health problem. A three-arm randomised waitlist-controlled feasibility trial is proposed. A total of 59 subjects (19-21 subjects per arm) will be recruited. The three groups are AA plus smartphone application (experimental group); AA only (comparison group); and Waitlist control group. In the experimental group, seeds will be applied on six specific ear acupoints of the subjects by the researcher. Subjects will be requested to apply pressure on the acupoints thrice per day. They will install a smartphone App which will send out regular reminders for pressing, allow the subjects to input the number of bowel open, compliance rate, and difficulties entered during the process for timely advice. The total treatment period will be 8 weeks. Outcome measures will be conducted at baseline and postintervention at 8 weeks, including obesity and anthropometric index, leptin concentration and adiponectin level. Patient satisfaction towards the therapy, the use of the smartphone application and the implementation of the treatment protocol will be determined.
Obesity is a common global health problem. It increases the risk of many chronic illnesses, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Conventional approaches to alleviate obesity are medications, exercise, dietary control, behaviour modification therapy or bariatric surgeries. However, the safety of anti-obesity agents is a concern, and gastric bypass surgery and other bariatric surgeries also pose potential risks after operation. Auricular acupuncture therapy is frequently used to treat obesity. However, the use of needles for auricular acupuncture may be unacceptable to people. Some researchers attempted to adopt a combined approach by integrating auriculotherapy with diet restriction, and the effect solely attributed to auriculotherapy cannot be determined. On the other hand, auricular acupressure (AA) is a safe, noninvasive, inexpensive and easily self-administered approach that causes very few adverse effects. Previous evidence has demonstrated that AA is an effective intervention to reduce body weight, increase satiety and self-efficacy on weight control through the self-administration of seeds pressing several times per day, after the seeds are applied by the researchers on the ear acupoints. It is associated with the decreased leptin levels and an increase of adiponectin level in which these hormones are associated with weight loss. However, therapists may have difficulties to monitor the compliance of subjects to perform seed pressing which in turn affecting the intervention dosages. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of self-administered AA integrated with mobile device reminders for weight reduction in individuals with overweightness or obesity. A three-arm randomised waitlist-controlled feasibility trial is proposed. A total of 59 subjects (19-21 subjects per arm) will be recruited. The three groups are AA plus smartphone application (experimental group); AA only (comparison group); and Waitlist control group. In the experimental group, seeds will be applied on six specific ear acupoints of the subjects by the researcher. Subjects will be requested to apply pressure on the acupoints thrice per day. They will install a smartphone App which will send out regular reminders for pressing, allow the subjects to input the number of bowel open, compliance rate, and difficulties entered during the process for timely advice. The total treatment period will be 8 weeks. Outcome measures will be conducted at baseline and postintervention at 8 weeks, including obesity and anthropometric index, leptin concentration and adiponectin level. Patient satisfaction towards the therapy, the use of the smartphone application and the implementation of the treatment protocol will be determined.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion criteria:
(1) diabetes, severe hypertension, heart disease or endocrine abnormalities,; (2) pregnancy; (3) eating disorders screened with a 5-item SCOFF questionnaire (Bradford et al. 2010); (4) psychiatric and mental disorders.
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Auricular acupressure (AA) plus smartphone App: Semen Vaccaria laccaria will be applied on one ear only, and seed plasters will be changed every 3 days to 4 days to the opposite ear. Subjects will be requested to apply pressure on the acupoints thrice per day. The subjects will install the smartphone App specifically designed for this study. The App will send out regular AA reminders to the subjects. The total treatment period will be 8 weeks.
Other: Auricular acupressure plus smartphone App
The participants will only receive AA treatment and are required to perform daily self-administered seeds pressing.
Other: Auricular acupressure
The participants in the waitlist control group will maintain their usual dietary and exercising patterns.
Semen Vaccaria laccaria will be kept in place by a piece of adhesive patch. Seeds will be applied on one ear only, and seed plasters will be changed every 3 days to 4 days to the opposite ear, that is, we will meet the subjects twice per week. Subjects will be requested to apply pressure on the acupoints thrice per day, preferably within 30 min before eating, pressing for 20 times using a constant rhythm to each point. Coaching on how to self-administer AA on the acupoints will be given to the subjects, and a return demonstration from the subjects will be required to ensure the skills are performed properly. The subjects will install the smartphone App specifically designed for this study. The App will send out regular AA reminders to the subjects. In addition, the subjects will be asked to input the number of bowel open and compliance with AA performance per day into the App. The total treatment period will be 8 weeks.
The participants will receive AA treatment and are required to perform daily self-administered seeds pressing, but no smartphone App will be provided, but a booklet containing relevant information will be provided to the subjects.
body mass index
body mass index is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, i.e. kg/meter square
Time frame: up to 8 weeks
Appetite parameters which include hunger, fullness and satiety level
Participants will be asked to compete the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before lunch and dinner meals taking an average for three consecutive days at each timepoints (baseline, and post-intervention at 8 weeks), using VAS scale to measure the appetite in terms of hunger, fullness and satiety level.
Time frame: up to 8 weeks
Leptin concentration
leptin concentration will be measured in duplicate by using a commercial sandwich ELISA kit comprising ready-to-use components, which are either concentrated or lyophilised.
Time frame: up to 8 weeks
Adiponectin level
Adiponectin level will be measured with a commercially available sandwich ELISA kit
Time frame: up to 8 weeks
Participants' expectation
A 5-item participants' expectation questionnaire will be collected from the participants.
Time frame: baseline
Patient satisfaction
Patient satisfaction towards the therapy, the use of the smartphone app and the implementation of the treatment protocol will be determined.
Time frame: up to 8 weeks
Bowel open
bowel open per day
Time frame: up to 8 weeks
Fat percentage
this include body fat percentage, visceral fat level, and segmental subcutaneous fat percentage
Time frame: up to 8 weeks
waist hip ratio
It is the dimensionless ratio of the circumference of the waist to that of the hips, calculated as waist measurement divided by hip measurement
Time frame: up to 8 weeks
Plan to share: No
Ran from Apr 2018 to primary completion in Nov 2018, 7 months.
Of 3,680 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Obesity, half reached primary completion within 23 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 43. This study's 7 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 3,843 studies reached it within 22 months; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 42.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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The Hong Kong Polytechnic University →