Fans have expressed concern over a young influencer eating large amounts of junk food online to gain views, as part of the social media trend known as “mukbang”.
Jenna, known as Jellybean.sweets on her TikTok account, has gained popularity online by filming herself eating hearty meals.
The 20-year-old, believed to be from Louisville, Kentucky, used to post videos of herself dancing to her favorite songs, but is now more likely to be seen sitting in front of the camera devouring doughnuts, burgers, pizzas and fried chicken strips.
Last July, Jenna posted a clip of herself trying chicken after being a pescatarian for several years.
He bought food from the Wingstop fast food chain, including Voodoo fries, cheese fries, 10 chicken wings, a cup of Dr Pepper and two pots of ranch dressing.
Jenna, known as Jellybean.sweets on her TikTok account, has gained popularity online by showing others her extensive meals.
“So I ordered quite a bit (because) I ordered with UberEats and I got $20 off my first order, so it was really cheap to get the things I wanted today,” she said.
After the first bite, Jenna is visibly impressed by the junk food and says, “Mmm, this is good.”
Before the video was uploaded, it typically received less than a million views, but that particular clip racked up a whopping 5.8 million clicks.
A comment from last month was posted on the tape that read: “This is where the saga began.”
After this burst of fame on social media, now… Only posts contents of their meals at several fast food chains including Raising Cane’s Chic-fil-A, Chipotle and Taco Bell.
Now, Jenna’s videos regularly go viral, but fans are worried that this is at the expense of her health as they claimed that she has gained weight after going down the path of making ‘mukbang’ videos.
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, leading doctors to warn that more people could die.
Jenna is photographed in early 2023 before regularly eating fast food and dancing in her bedroom.
Jenna is seen eating Taco Bell while talking to her camera and interacting with her followers.
Viewers expressed concern when Jenna uploaded many mukbang videos in one week
TikTok users said Jenna posted more than 20 videos of herself eating greasy, highly processed foods in just one week.
Jenna bought six Krispy Kreme Donutswhich would be about 2,400 calories, and he ate the entire box, in addition to consuming an energy drink.
One concerned fan said, “I just counted 27 mukbangs in a week,” while another wrote, “Hey! So 26 mukbangs in a week is really crazy.”
A third wrote: “No amount of money can make me do this lol,” while a fourth commented: “The fact that he did this on the same day as the Taco Bell one where he was eating 2 burritos at the same time is crazy.”
Ollie Matthews, a graduate in Applied Sports Nutrition and founder of Ojay Health, told FEMAIL: ‘Individually, these mukbangs may not be too dangerous, but consuming such high amounts of calories with a low nutrient density over the long term could be very dangerous.
‘It could cause nutrient deficiencies, poor glucose control leading to problems like insulin resistance and potentially type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol which could lead to more health problems the longer it continues.’
Asked whether posting mukbangs online can encourage copycat behaviour, Ollie said: ‘I think so, it normalises low nutrient diets and obesity which will cause health problems in the future.
Jenna has been compared to Nicholas Perry, known online as Nikocado Avocado, when he started eating food online in 2016.
Nikocado Avocado filmed herself eating thousands of calories of fast food in popular ‘mukbang’ videos
“There will certainly be pressure, she has a positive feedback loop where people are cheering her on. I have no doubt this could be addictive, especially the longer it goes on and the dopamine issues become more and more apparent with reduced bowel function.”
Ollie added that eating these foods can also lead to mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression.
Nishtha Patel, a clinical nutritionist who founded Gut Expert, endorsed the sandwich, saying: “The more views, likes and comments she receives, the more likely she is to be encouraged to continue or, worse still, she may be challenged to eat even more.”
“The fact that they are going viral shows that people are clearly interested in this type of content. It is worrying that others might copy them to get views and publicity, since they are so popular.”
Nishtha said that when she posted clips of her dancing, she burned calories and “helped her heart, her lungs, her blood sugar levels and her mental health.”
She added: ‘Eating a diet based on ultra-processed fast foods will have very few nutritional benefits and will be high in saturated fats and calories, as well as sugar.
“All of this will lead to weight gain and all the diseases that come with being overweight or obese. It can also trigger irritable bowel syndrome or, worse, inflammatory bowel disease.”
Jenna said she quit her part-time job because she actually makes more money eating fast food online than she does working.
She said she often receives around 10p for every 1,000 views of her videos, meaning a clip that has gone viral could instantly generate hundreds of pounds.
Responding to the critical comments, Jenna said: “Everyone in the comments loves to attack me by saying I eat too much fast food, what I mean is I’ve been eating a lot of fast food. But half of what I get actually goes to my dad.
‘In this family we have a nickname for my dad: he’s the human garbage man. He eats all the leftovers and things that are out of date in the refrigerator.
‘Everyone says ‘you get a lot at Wingstop.’ I’m actually eating two meals because my dad eats a lot, he loves Wingstop now.’
Jenna’s viewers said they felt like they were rewatching the story of Nikocado Avocado, another mukbanger.
In another video of Jenna eating a Taco Bell grilled cheese burrito, one viewer said, “I feel like I’m rewatching the Nikocado Avocado story.”
Nicholas Perry, known online as Nikocado Avocado, has been making videos of himself eating since 2016 on YouTube.
In July 2021, the Sun A video posted by Internet Analsyt was reported to show Nikocado saying: ‘When I first started Mukbanger, I weighed 150 pounds, maybe 160, I don’t remember well.
‘Well, I weigh 339, almost 340. I’ve doubled my weight. When I got to 300, I could have said I’d doubled my weight.’
But Jenna’s followers have also pointed out how much her appearance has changed in the past year due to creating unhealthy content.
One fan wrote: “You’ve gained an astronomical amount of weight. All because you wanted to stop being vegan. I think you should tone down the mukbangs.”
Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a registered dietitian and author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed: Your 4-week plan for life-changing healthier eating habits, expressed concerns about this type of content.
She said: ‘Mukbang videos, where people eat large amounts of food while interacting with an audience, can be quite dangerous, especially when the focus is on the consumption of so-called junk food.
‘These videos have the potential to normalise excessive and unhealthy eating habits, making it seem like consuming excessive amounts of food is normal and entertaining.
‘This can be harmful, as regularly eating large amounts, especially of less nutritious foods, can lead to serious health problems, such as obesity, heart disease and digestive problems.’
Last month, the dangers of binge eating hit the headlines following the tragic news that a 24-year-old man died while live-streaming a 10-hour binge eating binge.
Chinese content creator Pan Xiaoting died from a suspected stomach ache after consuming around 56kg (1.5 stone) 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 once reported to have been hospitalized after suffering gastric hemorrhage from overeating.
But she is believed to have resumed overeating just one day after being discharged from hospital.
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