Girls, especially teens and tweens, face a lot of societal pressure to be size zero, have a model like figure and be slim. They are told that if they aren’t skinny, then they might not look attractive to any guy, lowering their chances of being in a relationship. Not just that but there’s peer pressure, jealousy and millions of other emotional reasons that convince girls to work on their bodies to fit into the frame of idealistic beauty standards.
Societal pressure causes them to go to insane heights. In the past, there have been weight loss trends that may look clearly dangerous. However, young girls still pursue them, hoping it will bring about the change they are looking for. There have been weight loss fads that include the feeding tube diet, air diet or something as unhygienic as the tapeworm diet. On the list of similar diets there is another new trend, the cotton ball diet. This diet is extremely harmful and can make you vulnerable to serious diseases.
Fashion models initially started this diet during the prestigious fashion weeks when they have to be extra cautious about their meals. It was featured in magazines just as news but some people perceived it as a beneficial option. The cotton ball diet has been a topic of heated debate in chat rooms and among dieticians. The idea is to create a calorie deficit by eating nothing except cotton balls dipped into orange juice or a low-calorie smoothie. As cotton balls provide zero nutrients, all you consume are few ounces of the juice. Cotton balls stuff your stomach, hence easily satiating your appetite.
Some people choose to rely on the cotton ball diet while others use it as a substitute to appetite suppressants by eating it before the meals. By consuming cotton balls, you will not feel hungry for long as your stomach will be full because cotton isn’t digested by the internal organs. Cotton balls also expand as they reach the stomach so you don’t have to eat much of it.
If this doesn’t sound inhumane already, here is the science. Cotton balls are made from dangerous abrasive chemicals that can be fatal enough to kill you. When girls start eating cotton balls, they are only looking at the short-term results but in the long run, they are damaging their whole body. It will make you slim but on the other side, it will cause serious diseases, which will make it all worthless. What will you do with a slim body if you are unable to get up from the hospital bed?
Other than this, the consumption of cotton balls can also cause anxiety, stomach issues, and eating disorders. There is absolutely nothing good you can expect from this new weight loss fad. Cotton balls are composed of harmful bleached polyester fibers mixed with multiple chemicals. Cotton balls are not edible by any definition. This is why cotton ball consumption can block your digestive tract and result in dehydration or even the death of some internal organs that work in collaboration with the gastrointestinal tract.
The diet can also be a reason for malnutrition, as even after consuming up to 20 cotton balls you will not be getting more than 500 calories per day, which isn’t adequate to carry out daily activities. You will be dull and dizzy the whole time and your brain will have difficulty functioning. You will also face issues in staying alert and focused.