Teen chicken nugget addict who "never" ate a vegetable is hospitalized

A British teenager who reportedly had eaten "practically nothing" but chicken nuggets since she was 2 has been warned the habit could kill her.

News DeskJanuary 27, 2012 18:22

A scene titled "Chicken Nuggets" from artist Banksy's new installation "The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill" is seen October 8, 2008 in New York City. (Mario Tama/AFP/Getty Images)

A British teenager who reportedly had eaten "practically nothing" but chicken nuggets since she was 2 has been warned the habit could kill her.
Stacey Irvine, a 17-year-old factory worker from Birmingham, north of London, reportedly didn't think much of her nugget habit until she collapsed at work and was taken to hospital struggling to breathe, the Daily Mail reported.
Irvine, who said that she had never eaten fruit or vegetables, had swollen veins in her tongue, the paper reported. She was also found to have anemia.
Medics reportedly started her on an urgent course of vitamins.
According to the Daily Telegraph:

A lack of vitamins and other nutrients combined with a dangerous amount of salt can raise blood pressure and weaken the immune system and lead to an increased risk of heart attacks or strokes, particularly as Irvine ages.

A 20-piece chicken nuggets meal contains 58g of fat and 926 calories, which exceeds daily recommended intakes of 56g fat, and is almost half of the daily recommended 2,000 calories a day, the Daily Mail noted.
Irvine, who prefers McDonald's but also enjoys KFC, says despite the health scare, she still can't resist the fast food.
"I am starting to realize this is really bad for me," she told The Sun.
"McDonald's chicken nuggets are my favorite. I share 20 with my boyfriend with chips. But I also like KFC and supermarket brands. My main meal is always chicken nuggets every day."
Her mother, Evonne, 39, a beauty therapist with two other children, told the paper she had battled to get her daughter seen by a specialist.
"I'm at my wit's end. I'm praying she can be helped before it's too late," she said. "It breaks my heart to see her eating those damned nuggets.
"She's been told in no uncertain terms that she'll die if she carries on like this. But she says she can't eat anything else."
Very little else, any way. According to The Sun, once in a while Irvine will eat a slice of toast for breakfast or snack on potato chips.