Feeding Tube Diet Draws Criticism, But Docs Defend Desperate Brides
One of the more viral stories this week concerned disturbing news that brides were dropping $1,500 to willingly have a feeding tube inserted into their face-holes and carry around a hideous tote bag for two whole weeks of starvation in order to fit into wedding dresses.
The feeding tube diet, or the K-E diet, isn’t entirely for brides, but the bridal angle certainly helped the story go viral. Also, the fact that the 800 calorie-a-day, zero carb plan basically qualifies as starvation didn’t help- many felt the coverage normalized a very drastic weight loss method that was not only needlessly expensive, but also needlessly dramatic. And one of the bridezillas interviewed about her feeding tube diet experience admitted most people she met during the two-week long period assumed she was gravely ill.
Body-acceptance advocates and nutritional experts decried the feeding tube diet’s newfound prominence, but the docs who offer the option defended the practice. The New York Times quotes Italian doctor Gianfranco Cappello, who said:
“The millions of obese patients who can benefit from this treatment outnumber the thousands of people with cancer or neurologic dysfunction that require this therapy… [Standard crash dieting leads to muscle loss] on the arms, thighs, chest and buttocks, while the abdomen will remain enlarged. A bride would never fit into her wedding dress with an enlarged abdomen.”
The feeding tube diet first caught on in Europe, and the procedure remains less expensive there than it is in the US.
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Kim LaCapria Kim LaCapria is a writer and editor based in New York. A longtime information junkie, she began blogging full-time at the Inquisitr in 2009. Prior to that, she worked as a marketing assistant in the cosmetics and skincare industry. In addition to her writing for fortytwotimes, she also writes for Medacity and The Inquisitr. Kim is also a contributor for SocialNewsDaily, Indyposted, and TotallyMoney. In the past, she contributed to Lipstick and Luxury and managed social media accounts and blogs for several small and mid-sized businesses.
