Woman Develops Acute Pancreatitis After Starving Herself for 6 Days

A young woman in China’s Zhejiang Province reportedly developed acute pancreatitis after following an extreme weight-loss diet that involved eating very little for six days and binge eating on the seventh day.

The woman, identified only as Qingqing, decided to lose weight a few months ago. At the time, she weighed 55 kilograms and stood 1.55 meters tall. To shed weight quickly, she adopted a strict diet plan that allowed very little food during the week and unlimited eating on her weekly cheat day.

From Monday to Saturday, Qingqing reportedly consumed only about 800 calories a day. Her meals mainly consisted of small portions of boiled vegetables, chicken breast, and fruits.

However, on Sundays, she rewarded herself by eating large amounts of her favorite foods, including hotpot, fried chicken, spicy instant noodles, and milk tea.

The diet appeared successful at first. Reports say she lost 7.5 kilograms in just one month.

Health Scare After Cheat Day

Last month, after eating a large bucket of fried chicken for lunch and two packs of spicy chicken-flavored noodles later that evening, Qingqing began feeling severe pain in her stomach, waist, and back.

Her condition quickly worsened, and she started vomiting. She was rushed to The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, where doctors diagnosed her with acute pancreatitis.

Doctor Warns Against Extreme Dieting

“In an attempt to slim down, many people eat only one meal a day, believing they could become thinner. However, this method would easily drive the pancreas to the brink of collapse,” a doctor at the hospital said, adding that this extreme form of dieting can cause a host of other health problems.

How the Diet Affected Her Body

Doctors explained that Qingqing’s long periods of severe calorie restriction may have forced her pancreas into what they described as a “low load standby” mode. When she suddenly consumed large amounts of fatty and heavy foods on her cheat days, her pancreas struggled to produce enough digestive enzymes to handle the food.

Over time, the repeated cycle of extreme dieting and binge eating reportedly put too much stress on her pancreas, eventually leading to acute pancreatitis.