Asian J Beauty Cosmetol. 2014; 12(2): 275-281.
A Meta-Analysis of Obesity Management Effects of Aromatherapy Use
ABSTRACT
This study combined research on the effectiveness of obesity management using aromatherapy with a metaanalysis of the effects of body composition and blood lipids. 31 Korean dissertations and journal articles were analyzed and sample count and standard deviation values used in these materials to measure the effectiveness of obesity management programs using aromatherapy were entered into Excel to calculate the basis for research results. Examining the general characteristics of research on obesity management using aromatherapy, it was found that the sample size of many studies was below 6-10 people, the treatment methods mainly involved massage therapy, and oils used were mainly juniper, cypress, and grapefruit carrier oils with jojoba and almond. The weighted effect size of obesity management with body composition factor was a median of 0.33 and sub-factor effect sizes were body fat percentage (0.39), WHR (0.32), body weight (0.28), and BMI (0.23) respectively. The weighted effect size of blood lipids was a median of 0.30 and sub-factors were found to have significant effects, with TC (0.43) and LDL-C (0.36). Looking at the above meta-analysis research results overall, aromatherapy can be verified as an effective obesity management method as it influences TC and LDL-C and reduces body fat percentage.
Keywords :
Meta-Analysis, Aromatherapy, Obesity Treatment
