Chinese Girl, 16, Nearly Dies After Eating Only Vegetables, Laxatives To Fit Into Birthday Dress

A 16-year-old girl in China narrowly escaped death after surviving on an extreme diet for two weeks in a desperate attempt to fit into a birthday dress. According to the South China Morning Post, the teenager, identified as Mei, consumed only small portions of vegetables and relied on laxatives during the dangerous crash diet. Her health took a severe turn when she suddenly experienced weakness in her limbs and shortness of breath, prompting an emergency hospital visit. 

According to SCMP, doctors said the girl's condition had become critical, and she had to undergo a 12-hour emergency medical procedure to save her life. Medical examinations revealed that the 16-year-old's blood potassium levels had plunged to well below normal, leading to a serious condition called hypokalaemia. 

Hypokalemia is often caused by an unhealthy diet. Mei's doctor, Peng Min, at Hunan People's Hospital, explained that this condition can cause respiratory failure and sudden cardiac arrest. 

Another doctor from a separate hospital, surnamed Li, said that an unbalanced diet and dehydration can lower levels of potassium in the body.

Dr Peng advised people that to maintain their potassium levels, they should eat potatoes, chicken and bananas, plus drink sufficient water every day.

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According to SCMP, the teen has fully recovered and has been discharged from the hospital. She promised that she would never use extreme methods to lose weight again.

Meanwhile, Mei is not the first person in China to have put her life in danger with an unhealthy crash diet. Last year, a 26-year-old man was hospitalised with hypokalaemia. He used intermittent fasting to lose weight, only eating during an eight-hour window each day. The man also did heavy daily exercise.

In 2021, a 38-year-old woman went to the hospital after trying to lose weight by drinking a large amount of water. She reportedly drank around 4,000 ml of salt water all at once, resulting in what doctors called water intoxication.