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A 25-year-old woman in China learned the hard way that extreme dieting comes with serious consequences
The woman, known by her alias Qingqing, restricted her food intake to under 800 calories for six days a week, eating only boiled vegetables and chicken breast.
She then set aside one "indulgent day" each week, during which she ate whatever she liked, including hot pot, fried chicken, and milk tea.
Her extreme routine helped her shed 7.5kg within a single month, but it came at the cost of pancreatic damage
According to Xinmin Evening News, the restriction-and-binge cycle caught up with her on 14 May, shortly after she consumed a bucket of fried chicken and two packs of spicy noodles.
She experienced agonising pain in her stomach, waist, and back before being rushed to The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine.
Medical professionals diagnosed Qingqing with acute pancreatitis, explaining that cycles of starvation followed by high-fat binges can place significant stress on the pancreas
She is not alone, as clinicians have reported an increase in young patients suffering from organ failure due to aggressive weight-loss regimes.
According to South China Morning Post, a 20-year-old student in Hubei province even required a gallbladder removal after cutting out all carbohydrates to lose 25kg earlier this year.
