What in the World
What in the World
China’s extreme weight loss camps
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10 March 2026
12 minutes
Available for over a year
Military-style weight loss camps in China are getting popular. You sign up voluntarily for a month and follow a strict daily routine, with intense exercises, mandatory trips to the scales and rules on snacking. Some people have called them “fat prisons”. So what’s it like to go to one? TL Huang from Australia tells us about her experience. We hear about the downsides of these kinds of “fat camps” from British nutritionist and personal trainer Luke Hanna. And Wanqing Zhang from the BBC’s Global China Unit explains why more people in China are signing up to them.
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Presenter: Iqra Farooq
Producers: Mora Morrison, Chelsea Coates and Julia Ross-Roy
Video producer: Baldeep Chahal
Editor: Verity Wilde