Ozone Therapy as an Adjunctive Modality for Weight Reduction or Loss in Obese Subjects

Background

Obesity is a growing health concern, and weight-management programmes usually centre on dietary restriction and increased physical activity. Researchers have looked at whether other measures might support these efforts, particularly for people carrying a substantial amount of excess weight. Rectal ozone insufflation - a systemic method of delivering an oxygen-ozone mixture - has been proposed as one such adjunct, on the basis that it may influence metabolic and oxidative processes. This study set out to examine whether adding rectal ozone therapy to a calorie-controlled diet produced greater changes in body measurements than diet alone in grade II obese adults.

Study design

Thirty grade II obese adults (body mass index between 30 and 40), aged 25 to 45 years and comprising 20 women and 10 men, took part. They were divided into two equal groups of fifteen. Both groups followed a low-calorie diet of below 1,200 calories per day. In addition, one group received rectal ozone insufflation at a concentration of 20 to 40 micrograms per millilitre and a volume of 150 to 300 millilitres, given twice weekly over three months. Body mass index and waist circumference were measured before and after the treatment period, and the two groups were then compared. The report does not describe randomisation or blinding.

Findings

Both groups showed statistically significant reductions in body mass index and waist circumference by the end of the three months. The group that received rectal ozone alongside the diet recorded larger reductions across the measured outcomes than the group that followed the diet on its own. The authors reported these between-group differences in favour of the ozone-plus-diet group, while noting that dietary restriction alone also produced meaningful change.

What the authors concluded

The authors concluded that rectal ozone therapy may be used as an adjunctive modality alongside a calorie-controlled diet for weight reduction in grade II obese adults. They framed ozone as a possible supportive addition to diet rather than a replacement for it, and suggested that its effects on measures such as body mass index and waist circumference warrant further study.

Limitations of this study

This was a small study of thirty people at a single centre, and the report does not indicate that participants were randomly allocated or that outcome assessors were blinded, which limits how firmly the added benefit of ozone can be attributed to the therapy itself. The treatment period was short at three months, with no long-term follow-up to show whether any difference in weight or waist circumference was maintained. The proposed mechanisms by which ozone might affect fat metabolism or insulin sensitivity were not directly tested here. It is also an older study, published in 2011, and its findings have not been widely replicated in larger controlled trials. The results should therefore be read as preliminary and interpreted with caution rather than as evidence that ozone therapy causes weight loss.