The dangers of binge eating are back in the news following the tragic news that a 24-year-old man died while live-streaming a 10-hour binge last week.
Chinese content creator Pan Xiaoting died from a suspected stomach tear after consuming about 10kg (22lb) of food.
Her stomach had been severely deformed and filled with undigested food, according to autopsy results, suggesting her stomach may have burst, causing stomach acid and food to leak into her abdomen.
Xiaoting was famous in China for her live broadcasts, during which she would eat huge amounts of seafood and chocolate cake, among other foods, in front of the camera.
She was reported to have been hospitalized once after suffering a gastric hemorrhage from overeating, but is believed to have overeaten again just one day after being discharged from the hospital.
Chinese content creator Pan Xiaoting (pictured) tragically died at the age of just 24 last week, while live-streaming a 10-hour binge-eating session.
The trend of creating food videos, known as mukbangs, originated in South Korea and initially attracted mainly people who ate alongside the content creators.
However, the trend has become increasingly extreme, with mukbangers eating larger amounts of often unhealthy food, prompting doctors to warn that more people could die.
Xiaoting is not the first creator to lose their life at a tragically young age as a result of eating for views.
In January 2023, TikTok star Taylor Brice LeJeune (known online as Waffler69), who had around 1.7 million followers on the platform, died of a suspected heart attack.
Taylor, who was just 33 at the time of his death, was known for his quirky food review videos, in which he consumed novelty foods and expired grocery products, including promotional Addams Family cereal from the 1990s.
Large quantities of canned cheeseburgers and a giant Froot Loop were among the foods he consumed online.
Speaking to MailOnline after Taylor’s death, British GP Dr Zak Uddin said: “We’re not on the cusp of an obesity epidemic, we’re well into the epidemic.
“It’s crazy that we glorify excessive calorie consumption or even binge eating, isn’t it? We’re normalizing the abnormal.
Another extreme eating content creator who lost their life at a tragically young age was Taylor LeJeune (pictured), who was 33 when she died of a suspected heart attack.
“As a society, we enjoy the abnormal or the obscene. It’s not new. If it’s a freak show, people will be drawn to it.”
Perhaps the most well-known Mukbanger on YouTube is Nicholas Perry, better known as Nikocado Avocado to his 3.8 million YouTube followers.
When he started his YouTube channel in 2016, the then-vegan content creator weighed around 160 pounds.
However, she abandoned her plant-based diet and began filming herself consuming huge amounts of food, usually junk or fast food, including huge plates of burgers.
The 32-year-old from Pennsylvania is now reported to weigh around 350 pounds and has gained nearly 200 pounds in recent years.
He is also believed to have sleep apnea, a condition that causes sufferers to stop breathing during sleep and is linked to obesity, as he often uses a CPAP machine, which is used by those with the condition, in his videos.
During his dramatic videos, which have made him a multimillionaire, Nicholas often eats more than 10,000 calories in a single sitting.
General recommendations (which are just guidelines, since height, weight and activity level are among the factors that affect how many calories you need) suggest that men should eat about 2,500 calories a day and women, 2,000.
While the trend is becoming increasingly popular, it is not new: back in 2019, health experts were warning about the dangers of extreme eating.
In addition to Mukbang videos that show content creators eating massive amounts, other extreme eating content includes calorie challenges, which are popular among some fitness enthusiasts who indulge in “cheat days” where they eat more than 10,000 calories, and competitive eating videos.
Dr Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow, said: the Telegraph that this type of content sends the message that “eating excess calories is fun.”
One of the most famous mukbangers on YouTube is Nicholas Perry (pictured), known online as Nikocado Avocado. He has made millions of dollars from his extreme food videos.
At a typical Mukbang, Nikocado Avocado (pictured) will consume large amounts of often unhealthy foods.
THEN: At the beginning of her YouTube career, Nikocado Avocado weighed around 160 pounds; she has reportedly gained around 200 pounds over the past few years.
He continued: ‘The message it sends to people is that eating excess calories is fun, but this is not good because many people struggle to keep weight off.
‘Eating large amounts increases blood fats and the chances of heart attack in susceptible people.
‘The message it sends to society is the same as when people drink alcohol excessively and glorify it.’
She concluded that this glorification of binge eating is “incorrect” and sends a bad message to society.
Dr Andrew Harris, a senior lecturer in psychology at Nottingham Trent University, also believes this type of content can be dangerous.
Speaking after Pan Xiaoting’s death, Dr Harris said: “Mukbang videos focus on consumption and indulgence, potentially reinforcing a cycle of overeating or unhealthy food relationships.”
Pan Xiaoting (pictured) is reported to have weighed around 660 pounds (300 kg) at the time of her death.
The 24-year-old content creator (pictured) would go on live streams during which she would eat for up to 10 hours.
She added: “While some studies suggest that watching mukbang videos may alleviate feelings of loneliness by providing a sense of social connection or companionship, others indicate that excessive consumption of these videos may exacerbate loneliness by substituting deeper real-life social interactions for more superficial virtual ones.”
Plus, she said, seeing people gorge on unhealthy foods can reinforce unhealthy eating habits.
The videos “focus on consumption and indulgence, potentially reinforcing a cycle of overeating or unhealthy food relationships,” she added.
And registered dietitian Katie Lopez agreed, describing the videos as a grotesque display of gluttony and self-harm, telling MailOnline they are “another example of the glorification of self-harming behaviour”.
He added: “More specifically, these individuals are at risk for gastric perforation, significant elevations of glucose and lipids, acid-base disorders, electrolyte changes, dehydration and heart rate abnormalities.”