Meet the women who stare at the Sun to lose weight, as worrying new 'health' fad convinces Chinese women that sunlight can replace food.
According to a report on Oriental Daily, a new health trend in Hong Kong, has seen women staring straight at the sun in the belief that it will replace their need for food and even improve their vision and sleep quality.
The women, between 20 and 30 years old, reportedly head to the Sam Ka Village beach in Lei Yue Mun every evening and take off their shoes and sunglasses before setting their phone timers and stand to stare at the sunset - some using an umbrella or a tissue to protect their skin.
The concept of 'Sun Gazing' or 'Sun Eating' revolves around consuming the sun's solar energy instead of food and that by doing so it can reduce the body's needs. Some of the women choose to wear pinhole glasses to limit the ultra violet rays getting to their eyes and causing permanent damage.
One of the women sun gazing told Oriental Daily they are doing it for health reasons, not weight loss."We practice sun-gazing as a substitute for eating. Some of us who have finished the therapy now eat less, and others don’t have to eat at all."
She said they start by looking at the sun for up to 10 seconds on the first day, adding 10 seconds every day until they reach 44 minutes by the ninth month of practice.