Опасная диета с ленточными червями: как стремление к худобе подталкивает людей к незаконным и смертельно опасным методам

Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board. From fad diets that promise users they will drop 15 pounds in a week to gimmicky exercise tools that shake the fat away, from juice cleanses to week-long detoxes, people have always been searching for quick and easy ways to lose weight. On the farthest end of this spectrum are the truly dangerous weight loss plans: drugs whose long-term effects are unknown until they begin to affect the consumers and surgeries that result in lifelong maintenance and risk complications. One of these outrageous and extraordinarily dangerous techniques is depicted in the 2025 film, “The Ugly Stepsister,” in which a young girl swallows tapeworm eggs in order to lose weight. This tapeworm diet was not made up for the film, rather it originated in the Victorian Era. One would swallow the tapeworm egg, and upon hatching, it would attach to your intestine and consume whatever you eat. You infect yourself with a parasite to lose weight. Tapeworm pills were banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, meaning this method of weight loss is illegal in the United States. Even ignoring the dangers of the diet itself, which may include diarrhea, bile duct blockage and neurological issues, tapeworm pills are also extremely easy to fake, since you cannot see the egg without breaking the pill. If you are any kind of optimist, you would hope that this sort of fad diet died out a long time ago. But a recent development in the U.S. food supply shows that people who are desperate to lose weight will do anything to get there. Cyclospora is a parasite that has recently had an outbreak in the U.S. through iceberg lettuce, which has prompted major recalls from producers, including popular supplier Taylor Farms, used by big companies such as Taco Bell. Cyclosporiasis spreads through food and water contaminated with cyclospora in human feces. It has many gastrointestinal symptoms, such as loss of appetite, nausea, “watery bowels,” vomiting and weight loss. The weight loss factor is something that people get hung up on. Of course, you will lose weight if you get this parasite. Your body violently expels everything you eat, resulting in a loss of water and electrolytes. You cannot keep anything down. But people want to be thin — regardless of the risks. That has been proven time and time again. Social media influencers are posting things like “The summer I turned skinny,” which, in the case of user @kaicameronisacelebrity, receive hundreds of thousands of likes, with the caption, “cyclosporiskinny.” @blackbeltbabe’s post, which actually educates people on why this parasite is not a get-thin-quick scheme, is filled with commenters still expressing their desire to lose weight. Some say, “So … I can still lose weight? Hm,” or “I mean I lost 3 pounds.” Many comments are variations of “All I hear is I’ll be skinny” or “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” The desire to lose weight like this is deeply rooted in fatphobia. Of course, there’s the mentality of “anything to lose weight” — to get skinny, no matter what the cost to your body might be — but it is also tied to the idea that fat people should suffer for their weight loss. Many people view taking GLP-1’s as the “easy way out.” Shows like “The Biggest Loser” show people working out to the point of exhaustion or collapsing and vomiting on screen as a kind of penance for their fatness. Fat people are expected — demanded, even — to lose weight. But they must do it in a way that thin people deem acceptable, which almost always means a way that is difficult or even dangerous. This desire for thinness will kill you. People have died of similar diseases before. If you grew up in the United States, you have likely heard of the Oregon Trail, where people died from dysentery, a very similar disease caused by contaminated water. Dehydration can kill you. This parasite is exactly that — a parasite. It is dangerous. I would rather be fat and healthy than skinny in a coffin. Reach Audrey Weishaar at [email protected] or on social media @RMCollegian.