Health Risks of Using Roundworms to Lose Weight

It was in the news that female Chinese students are using roundworms as a way to lose weight and stay thin with very little effort. Before considering such dangerous efforts, take a look at the health risks of using roundworms to lose weight.

In news articles, such as this one by Rob Cooper on Mail Online, it is shown that students in China are purposely eating roundworm eggs in order to be thin to gain employment. A picture is included in the article.

Although the economic situation for young women may not be as hopeless worldwide, many women are desperate to lose weight for other reasons. Hopefully the news that this roundworm diet is effective for staying thin doesn't lead to a new type of fad diet.

In the intestine, roundworms not only consume some of the food eaten by the host, but they release certain proteins which prevent the proper digestion of food. This leads to weight loss and even malnourishment.

Roundworms are parasites. They invade the body and live off their host. According to the Cleveland Clinic, roundworms move through the body during their life cycle. After being ingested, the eggs sit in the intestines until they hatch. From there they move to the lungs where they begin to cause symptoms. The larvae then move into the air sacs in your lungs into bronchial secretions where they can be swallowed again to mature and reproduce back in the small intestine.

Symptoms of roundworm in humans includes a fever, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath as the roundworm larvae infect the lungs. When roundworms move back into the intestines, you can expect abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea or even bowel obstruction and weight loss.

If you have a lot of roundworms, they can come out in your vomit or stool or even out of your nose. That would be a dead giveaway you are using roundworms to lose weight and oh-so attractive if you happen to be out on a date.

If the roundworm infestation becomes heavy, in addition to extreme weight loss you can expect symptoms of malnutrition to set in as your body doesn't get the nutrients it needs. Left untreated, severe malnutrition can even lead to death in some cases.

Besides for the major "ick" factor (and yes, you get to swallow them twice), using roundworms to lose weight is like the infamous "tapeworm diet". Companies even sold tapeworm pills as a diet aid until the FDA banned the practice in the United States. Hopefully the sale of roundworm eggs will fall under the same category.

If you want to lose weight, use common sense or follow your doctor's recommendations rather than taking a chance of experiencing health risks of using roundworms to lose weight.

SOURCES:

Rob Cooper; Female Chinese students resort to eating roundworm eggs to ensure they look thin for job interviews; Mail Online World News

Cleveland Clinic; Parasitic Roundworm Diseases