Intestinal Obstruction Caused by an Ultra-Processed Food Diet
6 Liters of Fecal Matter Removed from the Intestines
Died from Complications After Intestinal Stricture Surgery
A 16-year-old girl from India, who had consumed excessive amounts of so-called "junk food" such as fast food for over five years, died from complications following intestinal stricture surgery. As various speculations arise regarding the cause of her death, experts have pointed to her poor dietary habits as a possible reason for her rapid health deterioration.
According to Indian media outlets such as NDTV, Aahana, a 16-year-old girl living in Uttar Pradesh in northern India, was admitted to a major general hospital in New Delhi on the 19th and received intensive care, but ultimately passed away on the 21st, two days later. At the time of her admission, she was suffering from typhoid, an infection caused by Salmonella Typhi, and had developed a perforation in her intestine, making surgery difficult.
Earlier, on the 3rd of the same month, Aahana had undergone intestinal stricture surgery at a local private hospital, where medical staff removed up to 6 liters of accumulated fecal matter from her intestines. She was hospitalized for over a week before being discharged, but due to complications including typhoid and tuberculosis, she was transferred to a large hospital, where she died of cardiac arrest during treatment.
Aahana's family speculated that her death was due to her dietary habits, stating, "She rarely ate home-cooked meals and preferred fast food for five to six years." However, experts believe that, in addition to her eating habits, a combination of factors such as intestinal stricture surgery and infections also played a role.
Dr. Piyush Ranjan, a gastroenterologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi, explained, "It was not the fast food consumption itself, but the girl's poor dietary habits that rapidly deteriorated her intestinal health, which was the underlying cause of death." He further stated, "The girl developed intestinal obstruction, which led to intestinal perforation. Intestinal obstruction is a condition where the small and large intestines are blocked, causing food, digestive fluids, and gas to accumulate and create problems. She likely developed intestinal obstruction because she was unable to digest food properly."
There have been consistent research findings that excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods such as fast food is harmful to intestinal health. According to the Global Burden of Disease report, unhealthy diets, including fast food consumption, are associated with approximately 11 million premature deaths worldwide each year. In South Korea, the number of patients with Crohn's disease, a representative chronic inflammatory bowel disease, surged by 41% over five years from 2017 to 2021.
The causes of Crohn's disease include mycobacterial infection, excessive immune response to bacteria in the digestive tract, and genetic factors. However, recent trends indicate that the tendency of single-person households, particularly among younger generations, to excessively consume ultra-processed foods such as fast food is also cited as one of the causes. Crohn's disease is most commonly diagnosed among young people between the ages of 15 and 35. Patients with Crohn's disease should avoid consuming fatty meats and dairy products, alcohol, coffee, and carbonated beverages.
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