Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr 2;18(3):561-568.
doi: 10.1515/jcim-2020-0177.

The feasibility and acceptability of hypnotherapy among overweight and obese individuals in a Malaysia's public university

Nurul Afiedia Roslim  1 , Aryati Ahmad  2 , Mardiana Mansor  3 , Myat Moe Thwe Aung  3 , Farrahdilla Hamzah  3 , Pei Lin Lua  1
Affiliations

The feasibility and acceptability of hypnotherapy among overweight and obese individuals in a Malaysia's public university

Nurul Afiedia Roslim et al. J Complement Integr Med. .

Abstract

Objectives: The global epidemic of overweight and obesity presents a major challenge in the health status of the society. Their prevalence is at an alarming rate worldwide due to poor compliance with conventional treatment and high rates of relapse, thus increasing demand for an effective and safe alternative approach such as hypnotherapy. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of hypnotherapy for weight loss and to compare these among selected socio-demographics.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 30 students and staff of a public university in Terengganu, Malaysia using convenience sampling. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS 23.0.

Results: Among the respondents (age = 26.17 ± 8.23 years; female = 66.7%; students = 63.3%), 40.0% were overweight and 60.0% were obese. Results indicated excellent feasibility as determined by participants' satisfaction towards the clarity of hypnotherapist's voice (93.3%), the suitability of content (86.7%) and time spent for the session (90.0%). Good overall acceptability (>60.0%) was also reported regarding hypnotherapist professionalism, the environment and perceived usefulness of hypnotherapy. Obese individuals were significantly more satisfied towards the hypnotherapist environment than overweight respondents (p=0.015). Additionally, no adverse effects were reported after the intervention.

Conclusions: This evidence signalled that hypnotherapy is a promising alternative tool in assisting overweight and obese individuals to lose weight. Extensive research is needed to substantiate its role in weight management programs for its full benefits.

Keywords: complementary and alternative medicines; hypnosis; hypnotherapy; integrative medicines; obesity; overweight.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ward, Z, Bleich, SN, Cradock, AL, Barrett, JL, Giles, CM, Flax, C, et al.. Projected US State Level Prevalence of adult obesity and severe obesity. N Engl J Med 2019;381:2440–50. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmsa1909301.
    1. Institute for Public Health. National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 (NHMS 2015). Vol. II: non-communicable diseases, risk factors & other health problems. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2015.
    1. Fox, A, Fenf, W, Asal, V. What is driving global obesity trends? Globalization or ‘modernization’? Glob Health 2019;15:32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-019-0457-y.
    1. Lemstra, M, Bird, Y, Nwankwo, C, Rogers, M, Moraros, J. Weight loss intervention adherence and factors promoting adherence: a meta-analysis. Patient Prefer Adherence 2016;10:1547–59. https://doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S103649.
    1. WHO. Global report on traditional and complementary medicine. Available from: https://www.who.int/traditional-complementary-integrative-medicine/WhoGl... [Accessed on 4 Apr 2020].

LinkOut - more resources