Desperation to be thin can reach absurd limits. Thanks to advertising and media, many people look at their kilos with such contempt that they would be able to do anything to get them out of the top. Doing ridiculous things, like the baby food diets adopted by models, are not an exclusive thing about modernity.

In fact, throughout history many inventors and scammers have capitalised on our obsession with thinness to make money from some inventions that are so ridiculous that it is hard to believe they are real. Here are some of the craziest weight loss trends in history.

  • Weight-loss cigarettes

Cigarette nicotine can reduce appetite, but at great cost. Likewise, that brand of cigarettes could reduce the appetite by ‘drying’ and ‘reducing the tissues’ of the mouth, according to its manufacturer, who also claimed that smoking that mark could make you lose up to 9 kg in a matter of 8 weeks. They could not be very healthy and, fortunately, the FDA (Us Food and Drug Administration) banned them in 1958.

  • Lonely worms

You don’t have to put a picture in for the idea to be understood. In the twentieth century a new product for weight loss was released: packages of parasites ready to swallow. The good thing about eating a worm is that you can eat whatever you want and lose kilos without moving a finger, the bad thing is, well, you have a parasite living inside.

Among the problems that solitary worms can cause are abdominal pains, infections, nausea, fatigue and many other things.

  • Weight loss lenses
    These lenses came on the market in the 1970s and, for obvious reasons, did not last long. First, that model could never be fashionable at any point in history. And second, manufacturers argued that if you used them you could lose weight in two ways: if you went to the market you would be less likely to buy products with colorful packages because you couldn’t distinguish them and the different-tone glasses had “a Europe’s secret colour ediating technology” that could lessen appetite. The only thing they could have given those glasses is migraine.
  • Portable saunas

If sweating really made us lose weight, then when summer comes we’d all be skinny. However, logic did not stop this company that, in 1972, threw inflatable trousers that were heated to remove fats from the abdominal area through sweat.

  • Cotton

We’d love to be able to say that eating cotton was a fashion from a couple of centuries ago and being able to laugh at the people of the past and their ignorance, but no. In 2013 several media outlets warned about this new weight loss trend, which involves dipping cotton balls in orange juice or water and swallowing them.

  • Weight-loss pills

This is another trend that, unfortunately, we continue to follow. Weight loss pills are everywhere, in pharmacies, in sports stores and even in supermarkets, but you have to be very careful with them.

With this we don’t want to tell you not to buy dietary supplements, just to do well to make the healthiest choices possible. Some are made with natural products, but others, such as HCG products (which were banned in the United States in 2011) contained ingredients that could cause hormonal and thyroid problems.

People who swallowed cotton felt satisfied and ate less, or nothing at all. The effects of following this “diet” can be very serious, besides that it does not contribute anything to the body, it can cause problems in the digestive tract.

The secret to weight loss? There is no such thing as Secret weight loss

We regret to inform you that there is no simple formula for weight loss,no magic pill or benevolent parasite, if you ever find a product that promises fast and lasting doubt results, you may be falling into a trap.

The only secret is to eat healthily and exercise regularly. It’s boring, but it’s still better than eating cotton or wearing old-fashioned glasses. However, there are few diet plans which work well and you can have a look here. Weight Loss Diets : 2020