{"id":22086,"date":"2026-07-30T14:11:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T09:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=22086"},"modified":"2026-07-30T14:11:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T09:11:58","slug":"weight-loss-joke-turns-serious-as-cyclospora-skinny-trend-fuels-health-warnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=22086","title":{"rendered":"Weight-loss joke turns serious as &#8216;cyclospora skinny&#8217; trend fuels health warnings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2F135960482.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>A social media trend dubbed \u201ccyclospora skinny\u201d is prompting warnings from medical professionals as Arizona health officials investigate 36 locally acquired cases of the intestinal illness.<\/p>\n<p>Videos and jokes referencing the outbreak have spread across social platforms, with some users suggesting the parasite could be used as a rapid\u00a0weight-loss method.<\/p>\n<p>Medical experts emphasize that infection from Cyclospora cayetanensis, a\u00a0foodborne intestinal parasite, is a painful illness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGetting any kind of illness to purposely cause something like that is just a bad idea,\u201d Dr. Andrew Carroll, president of IntraCare and a physician in Chandler, Arizona, told\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox10phoenix.com\/news\/arizona-cyclospora-cases-reach-36-doctors-warn-dangerous-weight-loss-trend\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fox 10<\/a>. \u201cPlus, cyclosporiasis can be deadly. There are folks ending up in the hospital for long periods of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cyclospora cayetanensis is a microscopic foodborne parasite that causes the\u00a0intestinal illness\u00a0cyclosporiasis, according to Mayo Clinic.<\/p>\n<p>The parasite spreads through food or water contaminated with fecal matter, often linked to fresh produce such as berries, basil, cilantro and bagged salad mixes.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>An outbreak of 36 Cyclospora cases in Arizona has sparked a dangerous social media trend promoting \u201cCyclospora skinny\u201d for rapid weight loss <span class=\"credit\">freshidea \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The parasite infects the small intestine, causing prolonged, watery and sometimes explosive diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal cramping and\u00a0severe fatigue.<\/p>\n<p>Infectious disease specialists emphasize that while weight loss can occur with cyclosporiasis, it results from fluid loss, muscle wasting and nutrient malabsorption \u2014 not healthy fat reduction.<\/p>\n<p>Cyclospora cayetanensis is a microscopic foodborne parasite that causes the\u00a0intestinal illness\u00a0cyclosporiasis, according to Mayo Clinic.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>A social media trend dubbed \u201ccyclospora skinny\u201d is prompting warnings from medical professionals as Arizona health officials investigate 36 locally acquired cases of the intestinal illness. <span class=\"credit\">TikTok \/ @fr4ncescasmith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The parasite spreads through food or water contaminated with fecal matter, often linked to fresh produce such as berries, basil, cilantro and bagged salad mixes.<\/p>\n<p>The parasite infects the small intestine, causing prolonged, watery and sometimes explosive diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal cramping and\u00a0severe fatigue.<\/p>\n<p>Infectious disease specialists emphasize that while weight loss can occur with cyclosporiasis, it results from fluid loss, muscle wasting and nutrient malabsorption \u2014 not healthy fat reduction.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Videos and jokes referencing the outbreak have spread across social platforms, with some users suggesting the parasite could be used as a rapid weight-loss method. <span class=\"credit\">TikTok \/ @d_pittig<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Severe diarrhea and vomiting can also lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalances and complications that are especially dangerous for children,\u00a0older adults\u00a0and people with weakened immune systems, experts warn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith diarrhea, if you\u2019re not able to control that part of it, you\u2019re going to lose a lot of electrolytes, so you\u2019re going to have problems with muscle cramps and\u00a0headaches\u00a0and all those sorts of things,\u201d Carroll said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re really aware of dehydration in this state; you don\u2019t want to get to the state where your heart just can\u2019t pump enough blood because there is no water in there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Medical professionals urge the public not to view parasitic infections as a weight-loss shortcut. Instead, experts from Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic recommend practicing safe\u00a0food handling\u00a0and seeking medical attention for persistent gastrointestinal symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople who are influencers on social media, a lot of people listen to them,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cThere\u2019s millions of followers for these people and even the most off-colored comment, or meant to be funny, could be considered something serious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEspecially to someone who might be dealing and struggling with their weight; they might think, \u2018Hey, it might be a good idea,\u2019 and it\u2019s never a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A social media trend dubbed \u201ccyclospora skinny\u201d is prompting warnings from medical professionals as Arizona health officials investigate 36 locally acquired cases of the intestinal illness. Videos and jokes referencing the outbreak have spread across social platforms, with some users suggesting the parasite could be used as a rapid\u00a0weight-loss method. Medical experts emphasize that infection&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/135960482.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}