Produced by: Hitansh Gaur
A 21-year-old Chinese influencer posting under the name Cuihua, died after joining several weight loss camps across various provinces in the country.
Chinese media outlets reported that Cuihua was trying to reduce her weight by 100 kilograms as an inspiration for thousands of her followers on Douyin, Chinese version of Tik Tok. She weighed 156 kg before starting her journey.
Cuihua was able to lose more than 27 kg in a period of two months during which she joined various weight-loss camps. The last camp she joined was in Shaanxi province, which ended just two days before her death. The videos and accounts have been taken down after her demise.
Chinese National Radio reported that the camp promotes ‘nutrition meals, healthy exercise and rest’. But Cuihua reportedly chose to limit her diet while also doing intense exercises. The reports also claim that the Shaanxi weight loss camp has also compensated the family of Cuihua.
The local authorities are also probing the Chinese influencer Cuihua’s death and also investigating if the weight loss camp is conducting excessive or improper training.
Women in China often take part in a number of trends related to weight loss while trying to show how thin they are. One such recent trend in China involves women posing behind vertical sheets of printer paper to prove their waists are so thin that they can not be seen on either side. Another trend shows influencers posting selfies to show how many coins they can hold in their collarbones.
Chinese media has been scrutinising the influencer industry as recently another influencer died while trying a viral trend called ‘PK’. The challenge involves competition between two influencers who compete for getting more gifts and rewards from their followers and whoever loses three rounds has to drink an excessive amount of alcohol. The Chinese government is also trying to find a way for regulating the influencer industry.
Last month, an influencer known as “Brother Three Thousand” or ‘Sanqiange’ in Chinese, died a few hours after broadcasting himself drinking several bottles of Baijiu, a Chinese spirit with a high alcohol content of 30% to 60%.
Just like ‘Sanqiange’, Brother Huang also took part in a drinking challenge on June 2 during which he drank an excessive amount of Baijiu. His wife confirmed that he died a few hours later.