It’s the new teen eating challenge sweeping social media - and doctors have now issued an urgent warning to parents over it.
The ‘Shell On Challenge’ sees kids eating food with all its packaging. While in mild cases it sees teens chomp away on bananas AND their skins or watermelon with their rind, it’s also seen kids eat dangerous plastic wrappers.
The extreme examples have seen teens eating plastic ziplock bags that their snacks were stored in as well as plastic chocolate bar wrappers.
Given the enormous dangers that eating plastic can have on kids - choking hazards as well as ingesting potentially toxic chemicals - it’s forced doctors to issue an urgent warning.
‘Organic material like fruit peels are typically not dangerous. Zest is often used in recipes (lemon zest) which is the shavings of the rind,’ Chicago-area physician Max Plitt told The Post.
‘Eating plastic, on the other hand, can be dangerous. BPA has been suggested to influence hormones. Chemicals in PVC like vinyl chloride have been linked to cancers.’
The challenge is currently doing the rounds on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. Health experts have urged parents to talk to their kids about the dangers, so they can stop the challenge gaining more momentum.