Malta’s chart-topping obesity rate has led to the setting up of a weight-loss clinic that uses traditional Chinese medicine to tackle the health problem.

The alternative medicine, based on a form of acupuncture called acupoint thread embedding, is being offered at Paola’s Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM), which launched its specialist clinic last month but has been treating around 30 patients since January.

“The goal of the new weight-loss specialist clinic is to address the underlying cause of obesity, a common health issue in Malta, by applying Chinese therapy without side effects and relying on pharmaceutical drugs,” the centre said.

Malta has for years topped overweight and obesity lists, with predictions suggesting the problem that over a third of the adult population will be obese by 2030.

Around a quarter of Maltese adults are already considered obese, putting Malta far ahead on the obesity scale, according to Eurostat and the World Health Organisation.

In March, the MRCTCM, opened jointly by the Maltese and Chinese government 30 years ago, approached Public Health to propose treating obesity in an alternative way.

The idea was to invite volunteers to carry out a research programme that would study the effects of acupuncture on weight loss, draw comparisons and collate data that would shed any doubts on how the treatment worked.

But government funding for the research was not available. So, it has proceeded anyway to offer the therapy at its clinic.

Centre director Dr Feng Hua has been practising this form of acupuncture for obesity – also known as catgut sutures – on thousands of patients in China for the last 15 years.

It comes with a major caveat: it is not currently endorsed by scientific organisations such as the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the Endocrine Society and the FDA.

But from experience, Dr Feng Hua is convinced of the effectiveness of injecting what is called a collagen line into specific muscles – around 10 selected acupoints – every two weeks.

She said catgut embedding means cutting down on the frequent appointments of standard acupuncture – the effects of which stop once the needles are removed.

This is because the collagen lines remain effective in the body until they dissolve after two weeks.

The prolonged stimulation provided by the catgut sutures, embedded at strategic acupuncture points, reduces appetite and helps regulate the digestive system, reducing bloating, while enhancing and accelerating metabolism, Fua explained.

She said the treatment was slightly painful, particularly a couple of days after the embedding. Fua maintained patients were able to endure the discomfort and “accept it is doing its job”.

My weight-loss journey

Fua said it was still early days to see the effects on patients that have attended the clinic since it only opened a few weeks ago. But the centre was confident about the results.

A female patient in her 40s, who has already undergone the treatment and wished to remain anonymous, told Times of Malta she lost seven kilos over three months, insisting the benefits extended far beyond mere weight reduction.

This patient, however, was nowhere near obese at the beginning of her weight loss journey. At around 55 kilos, she just wished to shed some more weight.

A director of a private hospital, she said her “journey” with catgut embedding began as an exploration into alternative weight-loss methods and turned out to be a “transformative experience”.

It led to an immediate decrease in appetite in her case and was pivotal in helping her make better food choices.

“Without the constant cravings for unhealthy snacks and sugary treats, I found it easier to base my diet on nutritious, wholesome foods. Fruits and vegetables became the cornerstone of my meals, providing essential vitamins and minerals that not only supported my weight loss but also improved my overall health,” she said.

The patient said she no longer felt the compulsion to eat out of habit and emotion.

“Instead, I began to listen to my body’s true hunger signals and chose foods that were both satisfying and nourishing.”

Asked what happened to patients when they stopped the therapy, Fua said positive results were often retained because they led to changes in lifestyle and dietary habits.

“Once the body starts to feel so good and healthy, and receives positive feedback, it continues to follow this lifestyle.”

Fua said catgut embedding also works on and stabilises the endocrine system, so even when the treatment stopped, it continues to work long term.

The length of the treatment depends on the individual and the amount of weight that needs to be lost, but generally, results are seen after three months, she said.

The average reduction was around two kilos a month, but this could plateau in the second and kickstart again, Fua estimated, adding she was against quick weight loss because this can be easily regained.

The lower the starting weight, the harder it could be to shed the kilos, she said.

The centre’s current profile of patients was mostly female, aged between 40 and 60, but some men have started dropping in since the clinic was officially opened, Fua said.

Men in Malta have the highest rate of overweight and obesity of the 52 countries making up the WHO’s European region. Women in Malta were the second highest.

The medical team at the MRCTCM provides other ancient Chinese therapies like moxibustion (the burning of leaves on body points), cupping and Tuina (a Chinese massage) to deal with various diseases.

Fua said the Maltese were open to and accepting of conventional Chinese concepts and trusted in these alternative forms of treatment, which did not have side effects.

The overall message is that acupuncture can be used not only to treat pain, and Fua urged those who were tired of using medication for their problems to give it a try.

“We hope we can help many people because obesity leads to other symptoms, including knee, thigh and hip problems. We see people limping in the streets and we feel sorry for them,” she said.