The authorities have fined a model GBP 20,000 for promoting a dangerous diet – consisting of not eating anything for a month – to her hundreds of thousands of social media followers.
The Chilean authorities handed down the hefty fine of CLP 21,000,000 (GBP 19,548) to model Roxana Munoz for promoting the controversial diet, which involves fasting for 30 days.
The fine was confirmed by the Regional Ministerial Health Department of the Santiago Metropolitan Region on Wednesday, 18th August.
It came about after the Colegio de Nutricionistas Universitarios de Chile (College of University Nutritionists of Chile) lodged a series of complaints about the model’s promotion of the diet.
The diet the Chilean model promoted to her 177,000 followers on Instagram in August last year and June this year consisted of forgoing all food and drink except water for 30 days.
Known as water-only fasting, the controversial diet was made famous by controversial wellness guru Loren Lockman of the Tanglewood Wellness Centre in Costa Rica.
The summary of the investigation – which began in January – into Munoz’ behaviour reads: “Any form of publication or propaganda referring to hygiene, preventive or curative medicine and similar branches that, in the opinion of the National Health Service, tends to mislead the public or harm individual collective health is prohibited.”
The summary also highlighted the potential dangers and consequences of the diet Munoz promoted, such as “impaired cognitive functioning; affection of stress hormones; risk to immunity; cardiorespiratory arrest, and more”.
After performing her second water-only fast in June this year, the model said: “It was a nice experience with difficult moments, because I became disillusioned with people who I thought were good but actually weren’t.”
Munoz’ posts in which she promoted the controversial diet were viewed by hundreds of thousands of netizens.
She has since defended herself by saying: “I have never sold anything, I do not have a fasting business…I have not promoted anything, I only recounted my experience so people could know about fasting, nothing else, and learn about my experience, because I had already done it before
The College of University Nutritionists of Chile has said the fine “sets a precedent on a social level with regards to the deception of the public in health matters through social networks.”
