Food for thought with ‘mukbang’ viral eating trend
People love to watch other people eat, but there are concerns about potential health consequences for both influencers and fans of one global social media trend.
The slim, healthy appearance of some mukbang content creators can mask serious health risks of overeating. Photo: TND/YouTube/Fume
‘Mukbang’, a term that combines the Korean words for ‘eating’ and ‘broadcast’, often focuses on one person eating a large quantity of food.
The trend seems to have originated in South Korea around 2008; mukbang videos became popular globally around 2015.
Google Trends data shows interest in mukbang videos peaked in 2020, but has picked up again this year – about the same time weight loss has come further under the public microscope with the rise of drugs such as Ozempic.
What it’s about
Mukbang videos can be as simple as someone eating their usual dinner in front of a camera; some fans find it helps them feel less hungry, while people who may be lonely eat along with content creators, almost like they are eating with a friend.
At the other end of the mukbang spectrum, content creators gorge themselves on as much calorie-heavy food as possible.
From piles of fried chicken to bowl after bowl of noodles, millions of subscribers avidly watch as mukbang influencers – who range from slim to morbidly obese – force an unhealthy amount of food down their throats in pursuit of money from ad revenue or brand deals.
Social media influencer Trisha Paytas told America’s ABC News she had made as much as $US50,000 ($73,000) from one video of herself eating about five pizzas.
Unhealthy phenomenon
A 2020 study that analysed more than 5000 YouTube mukbang videos found those that were the unhealthiest were watched significantly more than the less extreme videos.
But this social media phenomenon could be deadly.
In July, popular Chinese mukbang star Pan Xiaoting, 24, reportedly died of a stomach tear during a live-stream of a 10-hour binge of 10 kilograms worth of food.
In June, Filipino mukbang influencer Dongz Apatan, 37, died of a stroke, which some suspected may have been caused by high cholesterol influenced by his fried food-heavy diet.
There have been calls from organisations within China and Philippines to ban mukbang videos altogether.
Concerns grow
Over the years, concerns have grown for the health of prominent mukbang content creators such as YouTuber Nikocado Avocado, whose weight ballooned from about 68 kilograms to about 158 kilograms after five years of eating huge amounts of food for views.
Mukbang and YouTube content creator Nikocado Avocado’s weight has gone from 68 kilograms to 158 kilograms since 2018. Photos: TND/YouTube/@MoreNikocado
He still makes mukbang videos, and jokes about the health risks by remarking he does not know why he is gaining weight, and labelling videos with titles such as “You Won’t Believe I’m Still Alive”.
“There’s people who have bellies and they live until they’re 88 years old. There’s people that are all healthy, they only eat organic and they’re skinny, and they live ’til they’re 89,” he said in a video posted on August 23.
“They live one extra year.
“Alright, I’d rather live a couple of years less to enjoy my life … what helps me get through is I don’t read the comments any more.”
Viewers of this content could also be at risk.
Watching mukbang videos has been linked to body image issues and eating disorders due to the normalisation of overeating, or the focus on influencers who somehow remain thin even when continuously eating overly-large portions of food.
