By Ado Oyeyemi
An Ethiopian woman, Muluwork Ambaw, has claimed that she has neither eaten food nor drunk water for 16 years, saying she lost her appetite when she was 10 years old.
Ambaw, now 26, reportedly lives in Jimma, Ethiopia, and said her last meal was lentil stew before she suddenly stopped feeling hungry or thirsty.
Her unusual claim came into the spotlight after travel content creator, Drew Binsky, visited her in Ethiopia and documented her story and daily routine.
According to Ambaw, the change began when her family encouraged her to eat breakfast before going to school.
She said she would pretend to have eaten whenever her family asked, before eventually losing the desire for food altogether.
“I used to live with my family, and they asked me to eat breakfast and go to school. I said I had eaten, but I was pretending,” she reportedly said.
Despite her claim that she does not eat, Ambaw said she enjoys preparing meals for her family and visitors. She reportedly grows vegetables in her garden, which she uses when cooking for her sister and guests.
“I cook as much as I want, but I have no appetite,” she said.
Ambaw also claimed that she has not defecated for 16 years and only enters the bathroom to wash herself.
Her account has raised further questions about how she managed during pregnancy. Reports said she received glucose infusions during her pregnancy to provide her body with energy, while she claimed she could not breastfeed after giving birth because she did not produce breast milk. Her child was subsequently fed with artificial milk.
Ambaw said she had undergone medical examinations in Ethiopia and other countries, including India, Qatar and Dubai, but claimed that doctors were unable to establish why she did not experience hunger or thirst. She also reportedly underwent mental health assessments.
Asked by Binsky whether she was certain about her account, Ambaw maintained that she had not consumed food for 16 years and attributed her condition to God.
She reportedly said she intended to continue without eating and did not expect to resume food consumption.
However, there is no independently verified scientific evidence confirming that Ambaw has survived for 16 years without food or water. Prolonged deprivation of both food and water is incompatible with established medical understanding, particularly because water is essential for human survival.
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Ambaw has reportedly invited sceptics to visit her and verify her claims, which have since generated widespread reactions and questions online over how she could have survived such a prolonged period without consuming food or water.
