Like food, consume mukbang videos in moderation: Experts

SINGAPORE – As mukbang videos continue to rise in popularity across the world, experts in Singapore are advising viewers and those who make these clips to consume food in moderation.

This comes after two mukbang content creators abroad reportedly died in the past three months, and China and the Philippines are considering cracking down on videos in this genre.

Mukbang is a portmanteau of the Korean words for “eating” (meokneun) and “broadcast” (bangsong). It refers to live-streamed or pre-recorded videos of people eating while interacting with the audience.

Such videos originated in South Korea in the early 2010s and their popularity peaked during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, but they remain popular today.

Compared with the maximum score of 100 on the Google Trends platform in March 2020, the search term “mukbang” reached 88 in July, and was at 65 as at Sept 7. The platform analyses the popularity of top search queries in the Google search engine.

Many international mukbangers have a huge following online and some have chalked up billions of views on their channels.

For example, South Korean-American Zach Choi has 29.6 million subscribers on YouTube, with more than 10.2 billion views across 1,435 videos.

In Singapore, Mr Zermatt Neo has 525,000 YouTube subscribers and 587,000 Instagram followers, while Ms Sarah Ow has 1,470 YouTube subscribers. Mr Neo did not respond to an interview request, while Ms Ow declined to be interviewed.

Experts said mukbang can lead to a plethora of health issues as it is usually associated with overeating.

Parkway MediCentre dietitian Candy Goh said the recommended daily caloric intake for men and women in Singapore is about 2,200 calories and 1,800 calories, respectively. In contrast, mukbangers may consume up to 10,000 calories in one sitting, she said.

Mukbang can result in short-term effects such as weight gain, heartburn, bloating, nausea, disruption of natural hunger cues and acute pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas.

In the long term, mukbangers can develop chronic diseases like obesity, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart diseases and even cancer, Ms Goh said.

“In extreme cases, excessive food intake can be life-threatening, potentially leading to stomach ruptures, heart attacks or strokes, especially if combined with pre-existing health conditions,” she said.

Chronic overeating may also affect brain function, leading to increased risk of memory loss or mild cognitive impairment later in life, she added.

Dr Lin Cui Li, senior consultant gastroenterologist at GastroClinic, said mukbang typically showcases foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value, and that tend to be high in fat, salt and sugar, releasing hormones that cause pleasure.

Over time, the body may associate these pleasures with certain foods, causing the person to eat for pleasure rather than because of hunger, she said.

Dr Benjamin Yip, consultant gastroenterologist and medical director of Alpha Digestive and Liver Centre, said mukbang can trigger or worsen eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia as the person making the videos may feel guilty about overconsumption of food.

Viewers who watch such videos regularly may also become desensitised to large amounts of food, and they themselves may overeat, said Dr Jeremy Sng, a social sciences lecturer at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Dr Shawn Ee, clinical psychologist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist at The Psychology Practice, said some individuals who are at risk of adopting unhealthy eating habits may follow mukbang videos closely as they feel like part of a community that understands and appears to encourage unhealthy eating.

Recent deaths of mukbangers

In July, Chinese content creator Pan Xiaoting, 24, died while live-streaming herself eating.

Her autopsy results reportedly revealed that her stomach had become severely deformed and filled with undigested food.

According to a local report, she would eat continuously for more than 10 hours during her live stream every day, during which she would attempt to eat more than 10kg of food.

In the Philippines, vlogger Dongz Apatan, whose real name was Manoy Apatan, died of a stroke on June 14, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

The day before, the 37-year-old had posted videos of himself cooking and eating several pieces of fried chicken and white rice.

Mr Apatan, who had a following of 490,000 on Facebook, had a heart attack and went into a coma before he died of a haemorrhagic stroke, the newspaper reported.

The Philippine authorities

considered banning mukbang vlogs,

but later said they would not immediately issue a ban. Instead, they would look into whether these videos promote unhealthy eating habits.

But watching mukbang clips is not all bad, experts said, as doing so can help viewers feel less lonely and foster a sense of community.

NTU’s Dr Sng said watching these videos can make viewers feel as if they are sharing a meal with the content creator.

“The comments exchanged in chats, likes and the list of viewers can all evoke a sense that they are sharing a meal with others, even if these others are strangers,” he said.

The sense of companionship goes both ways. Mukbangers may feel less lonely as they film themselves eating and talking while viewers react to the clips, Dr Sng added.

“Food is a large part of many cultures, especially the act of eating together. Mukbang extends this tradition into the digital space,” he said.

He said viewers who are on restrictive diets may live vicariously through content creators who eat the things they cannot. For others, the performative and sometimes exaggerated style of mukbang can be entertaining, he said.

Dr Ee of The Psychology Practice said watching these videos may trigger a psychologically voyeuristic response, which may result in viewers finding pleasure in watching others in distress or pain.

Moderation is key

Experts cautioned viewers to consume such content in moderation and to be aware of the associated risks of doing so.

Besides maintaining a balanced diet, incorporating physical activity into one’s daily routine is vital for health and can complement a mindful approach to entertainment, Dr Lin of GastroClinic said.

Dr Ee advised viewers to be mindful of what they watch and their motivations behind it.

“If it’s for comfort or distraction, consider whether it’s meeting your emotional needs in a healthy way,” he said. He also advised mukbangers to avoid excessive food consumption and focus on variety of food instead of quantity.

Dr Sng said the impact of watching mukbang ultimately depends on viewers’ media literacy.

“Those who can critically engage with the content and recognise the performative aspects of mukbang are less likely to be negatively influenced,” he said.