News
Published on 09/18/2023 at 12:44, updated on 09/18/2023 at 12:44
Conference 3 min.
In collaboration with
Pauline Guillouche (gastroenterologist)
Lose weight by abusing laxatives? This is the new Tiktok trend! Be careful if you feel tempted: our gastroenterologist Pauline Guillouche explains to us why laxatives as a weapon against weight gain are not at all recommended.
Laxatives to clarify, this is the solution currently proposed by many influencers on the Tiktok network to lose weight quickly and almost effortlessly. So much so that the demand for constipation treatments is increasing considerably in pharmacies.
More than one billion views on the web
Although there is still no shortage, several brands in the United States (Dulcolax, Haleon, MiraLax, etc.) have announced that they are experiencing a significant increase in demand, with Internet users wanting to try this method. “TikTok influencers are making teenagers believe that laxatives will help them lose weight. His videos have been viewed more than a billion times on social media. Hundreds of thousands of young people are emptying store shelves. Which means those who really need it can no longer get it.” indicated the Daily Mail on September 14.
In addition to losing weight, laxatives are also promoted to prevent feelings of bloating and the onset of uncomfortable constipation.
“It is not useful for losing weight”
A magic formula? Far from it, answers our Dr. Pauline Guillouche, gastroenterologist, better known under the pseudonym @pauline.hepato on Instagram. Because this trend would be both dangerous to health and, simply,… ineffective.
“Laxatives are prescribed for very specific reasons. Especially to people who really suffer from constipation. If the idea is to take laxatives to avoid ‘absorbing’ calories, from a scientific point of view, it doesn’t work, that’s just not the case.” she warns us.
What is more problematic, this trend would also be dangerous for health, as the expert confirms:
“Normally, Dulcolax, for example, is a laxative called ‘irritant’, which causes intestinal contractions, which we will use in specific cases, but not in the long term. Quant aux laxatifs qu’on appelle ‘osmotiques’, dont le principe repose sur un appel d’eau au level du colon, pour obtenir des selles liquides, ils peuvent entraîner une déhydratation, la perte de potassium donc une hypokaliémie dangereuse, voire une l ‘renal insufficiency” She continues.
Not to mention one last, not insignificant problem: “Maybe we should also remember that suffering from diarrhea and defecating many times a day is still socially unpleasant, especially for an effect that will not occur!”
Maintain efficient traffic, instructions for use.
Our lifestyles would also be involved in this new medicinal approach. Thus, according to the American media, fresh fruits and vegetables have become unaffordable, sedentary or, on the contrary, hybrid lifestyles and too much movement will end up having an impact on our transit. In this context, the treatment solution would seem simpler.
But for our expert, there are simple habits to maintain good traffic, without gaining weight. “The best diet available today is the Mediterranean diet, based on fruits and vegetables, vegetable oils, without sausages, red meats or even sweets. It is still a simple diet to implement, effortless and economical. she remembers.
The other imperative is to move enough: “But adding physical activity to your daily life is not necessarily a limitation: it can consist of walking more when possible, taking the stairs, getting off the subway one station earlier… They are not drastic measures, but they allow you to stay. fit. And lighter.”
