- A Chinese influencer died while at a stay-in weight loss camp in Shaanxi, China.
- Cuihua, 21, passed away on Saturday, according to a video posted by her family.
A 21-year-old Chinese influencer died on Saturday while attending a weight loss camp where she went all out to lose 200 pounds.
The influencer, known as Cuihua, or roughly translated to jade green blossom, signed up for a closed camp model where her daily life focused purely on fitness, Shanghai Morning News reported.
At the camp in Shaanxi province, Cuihua would participate in high-intensity workouts and keep to a strict diet to facilitate her weight loss, the outlet wrote.
In the evenings, she would run her live streams and train in front of fans, per Shanghai Morning News.
Cuihua claimed to her audience that she initially lost 57 pounds in two months, and continued to shed another 23 pounds over the next six months, according to the outlet. Her goal was to lose a total of 200 pounds, per her social media accounts.
Cuihua's training videos on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, would show her performing calisthenics or lifting weights, often displaying moments when she struggled to keep up with the workout but persevered.
However, these videos were set to private when checked by Insider on Tuesday morning, Beijing time.
Her family posted a video on Monday via her account, announcing Cuihua's passing.
"Thank you to everyone for your support and love for Cuihua. Our child has gone to heaven, and we are still processing all of this. We hope that people won't be misguided by malicious individuals for their entertainment, which could harm parents and family. Let our child rest in peace, thank you!" the message said in Chinese.
The influencer had close to 10,000 followers on Douyin.
News of Cuihua's death has ignited fierce debate on Chinese social media about the safety of her training regimen.
"Such weight loss is too fast, and the heart can't keep up!" one top commenter wrote on Douyin.
"One pound a day? Fitness coaches don't encourage this sort of weight loss. It's like sending someone to Hades," another person wrote.
Weight loss camps have become increasingly popular in China. The programs involve trainees stepping away from their usual lives and staying on-site for several months, during which they will work out with a trainer or a fitness group and receive ready-to-eat meals.
But the camps remain controversial, with people concerned that the resulting rapid weight loss could be unsustainable or unhealthy.
Jiemian News, a subsidiary of the Shanghai Press Group, reported in March that several unnamed participants in various camps across China were injured as a result of the training, or diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis — a severe and possibly fatal condition when muscles break down and release toxins into the body.