Women in Hong Kong have reportedly taken to staring at the sun to 'lose weight'

Group in Hong Kong claim that sun gazing is 'a substitute for eating'

Can staring at the sun make you thin? Probably not (Getty )

A small group of women in Hong Kong have reportedly struck on a new method to lose weight: staring into the sun.

The latest fad apparently sees a group of roughly ten women, aged between 20 and 30, gather every day on Sam Ka Village beach in Lei Yue Mun every evening to stare at the sun.

Careful to protect their skin, although obviously not their eyes, the women have been pictured covering their skin as they stare at the sun for approximately 40 minutes.

“We practice sun gazing as a substitute for eating. Some of us who have finished the therapy now eat less, and others don’t have to eat at all!” One happy sun-gazer apparently told the Oriental Daily.

According to the same local newspaper, devotees start by staring at the sun for 10 seconds, adding 10 second every day. By the ninth month of participation they claim they can stare at the sun for 44 minutes.

Sun gazing is not new, although this appears to be the first time it has been linked to weight loss.

In the early 20th century the practice was popularised by William Horatio Bates as a form of alternative therapy. The British Medical Journal noted his methods had “disastrous results” and he was condemned for an absence of scientific fact behind his methods. Other instances have appeared as part of a spiritual or religious practise.