Background: Obesity is a health crisis for people all over the world. ST 36 plays an irreplaceable role in the treatment of weight control and blood lipid in traditional Chinese medicine. The aim of this systematic review is to assess and synthesis evidence of efficacy of ST 36 for body weight and blood lipid concentration.
Methods: We will search studies on the anti-obesity effect of ST36 in animal models from the following databases in consultation with an experienced medical information-scientist or librarian: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus. Searches were performed until January 2021. There is no time of publication limitation. The outcomes will be measured with body weight and outcomes related to blood lipid level. SYRCLE Risk tool for animal studies will be conducted to assess the risk of bias. The protocol will be conducted according to approach and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015.
Discussion: This systematic review will bring the following results: 1) whether ST 36 acupoint is closely related to the intervention of obesity and blood lipid, 2) If the ST 36 therapy have the function of reducing weight and fat, which intervention means is the best choice, 3) Massage is a simple and easy to learn intervention method, and can treat ST36 by patients themselves, it is called Dao yin in Chinese.
PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020177223