A classroom video showing a teacher using a fake ultrasound-style demonstration to scare children away from junk food has reignited debate over whether fear and misinformation belong in nutrition education.

The 39-second clip, reported by India Today and attributed to X user Neetu Khandelwal, shows children being offered snacks including chips, biscuits and chocolates before a staged “scan” is used to suggest that eating those foods has caused worms to appear inside a child’s stomach.

Several children appear visibly alarmed as the demonstration continues. Some watch wide-eyed, while others appear close to tears. The school and the location where the recording was made were not identified in the reporting reviewed.

A fake scan is used to make the lesson feel real

The classroom setup appears designed to resemble an ultrasound examination. One child lies down while a teacher uses props and a screen displaying worm-like imagery. The message presented to the children is that unhealthy snacks can lead to worms forming inside the stomach.

India Today reported that Khandelwal criticized the method even while acknowledging the apparent intention behind it, arguing that children should be taught healthy habits rather than frightened into compliance.

The claim about worms is medically misleading

Whatever the nutritional concerns surrounding heavily processed snack foods, the demonstration gives children a false explanation of how intestinal worms develop.

The World Health Organization says the major soil-transmitted helminth infections are caused by parasitic worms whose eggs are passed in human feces and contaminate soil where sanitation is poor. Infection can occur when eggs are ingested through contaminated vegetables, water or dirty hands, while hookworm larvae can penetrate the skin after contact with contaminated soil.

Eating chocolate, chips or biscuits does not by itself cause worms to suddenly form in the stomach. Presenting that connection as a literal medical consequence turns a nutrition lesson into health misinformation.

Fear-based food lessons are already drawing criticism

The clip is not an isolated example. The Telegraph India reported earlier in September on a broader social-media trend in which parents and teachers use fabricated ultrasound images of worms to frighten children after giving them junk food.

Mental-health professionals interviewed by the newspaper warned that children may learn the lesson through anxiety rather than understanding. They also raised concerns that fear associated with one category of food can sometimes generalize into broader food anxiety, particularly when young children do not understand that the medical image is fake.

That does not mean concerns about excessive junk-food consumption are unfounded. The dispute is over the teaching method. Age-appropriate explanations, positive reinforcement and accurate information can encourage healthier choices without telling children that a fictional medical condition is already developing inside them.

The video leaves a larger question about what children actually learn

The viral clip works because the children appear to believe the demonstration. That is also why it has drawn criticism. A frightening image may produce an immediate promise to avoid certain foods, but the behavior change comes from believing a false health claim rather than understanding nutrition.

The episode has therefore become less a debate about whether children should eat fewer highly processed snacks and more a debate about whether adults should use fabricated medical evidence to achieve that goal.

ARTICLE CREDIT: News story written by Kat News.

Sources / Further reading:

India Today: https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/teacher-offers-students-junk-food-then-shows-worms-in-stomach-with-fake-ultrasound-2992493-2026-09-11

World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/soil-transmitted-helminth-infections

The Telegraph India: https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/lifestyle/fake-ultrasound-pranks-to-stop-children-eating-junk-food-may-trigger-fear-and-anxiety-say-psychologists/cid/2178320

X – Neetu Khandelwal: https://twitter.com/T_Investor_/status/2098315675932770803