This is a serious question. I believe that if a person is in good health and well nourished a tapeworm will not cause any harm. A person who is undernourished will, of course, be harmed by the worm.
The worm lives in the small intestine and takes some of the food that is eaten to support itself.
If a person is obese through overeating, a tape worm would use some of the intake of food and there will be less absorbed by the person. This would be beneficial.
A little history. In the 20's or 30's there was a scam (?) perpetrated by unscrupulous persons. They advertised a 'slimming pill' which was guaranteed to make you loose weight. In fact the 'pill' was a capsule which contained a living tapeworm segment which, took up residence in the gut and grew - using some of the food that would otherwise be absorbed.
An elderly lady (90's) was interviewed on radio who had taken a 'pill', knew it was a worm, and had remained slim, active and in good health and would not part with it.
2006-08-19
11:11:56
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10 answers
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asked by
David74
3
in
Diet & Fitness