It began in Italy, with people trying Diet Tubes---no eating, just receiving nutrients via a tube inserted in the nose, intended for the stomach. Not for a long time, just short weight loss periods. Augmented by tea, green tea, apparently.
The Guardian's Amanda Mitchison reports:
"Last year, 1,500 patients underwent Diet Tube. Numbers are escalating – there are now eight Diet Tube clinics in Italy, centres in Barcelona, Athens and Madrid, and franchise negotiations underway for a dozen other countries, including the UK. The fact that such an outlandish procedure can flourish is hardly surprising. As a nation we are getting fatter and fatter...
"There is a madness in our mindset about food. How can we have got so fat? How can we have failed so dismally to get so many people to eat properly? A lot of work on healthy eating is already done in schools and in GP surgeries, but the message isn't getting home. How can it when food that is bad for you is so much cheaper, crunchier and more convenient?"