FORCING yet another terrifyingly calorific handful of food into her mouth, Trisha Paytas knew she was eating herself to death… but couldn’t stop.
It was her third excessively enormous fast food meal of the day, pushing her above 10,000 calories – four times the daily recommended intake – all for her cheering and often jeering fans online.
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Despite her rapidly worsening health and spiralling depression, Trisha felt compelled to continue because she was earning up to $50,000 (£40,000) per video and as much as $300,00 a month (£237,000).
The YouTube star was addicted to a global internet phenomenon called ‘Mukbang’, where people record and stream themselves scoffing super-sized quantities of food online.
The videos, which get millions of hits, have been further popularised by celebrities like Florence Pugh, Kylie Jenner and most recently WAP singer Megan Thee Stallion.
But there’s a chilling dark side to this trend.
At least two Mukbangers have died during challenges this year alone and scores more suffer debilitating health problems, including one who needed a mobility scooter and used an oxygen mask.
The Sun’s investigation reveals those in the trade fear people are “killing themselves for content” and health professionals agree, arguing many more could die if the dangers aren’t recognised.
Reformed ‘Mukbanger’ and US Celebrity Big Brother star Trisha, 36, swore off such extreme content after falling into a deep depression in 2018 and now seldom creates it online.
The reality star, of Los Angeles, tells The Sun: “It’s like the freak show, no one should consume that much food.
“Mukbang glamorises and glorifies getting paid to eat yourself to death.
“I’m no health expert but I don’t think anyone needs to consume 5,000 or 10,000 or 20,000 calories unless you are Michael Phelps, LeBron James or an Olympic athlete.
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“For the Mukbang I was doing, I was eating very large meals. I would order 10 meals for myself from places like Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, Chili’s, Red Lobster and other fast food restaurants. I gained a lot of weight.
“When I was doing two to three times a day I didn’t enjoy food anymore, it was making me sick and I didn’t want to eat anything anymore.
“I kept doing it for the money, I was paid to eat.
“It was the easiest job in the world but also the unhealthiest job in the world. I have never been more depressed in my life.
“I thought food was going to kill me and now when I see mukbangers gorge and binge it’s scary, because I know they can’t control it.
“When that money comes in you just can’t stop.”
Millions of fans
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Mukbang stems from a combination of the Korean words ‘meokneun’ and ‘bangsong’, meaning ‘eating’ and ‘broadcast’ and was believed to have started back in 2009 in South Korea.
Its popularity grew, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, and due to the sizeable sums creators could make – it’s no wonder an appetite for the trend spread past Asia.
Now on YouTube alone, there are 4.9million Mukbang videos and 4.1million on TikTok – ranging from more ordinary-sized meals to gut-busting banquets of fast food that take several hours to consume.
Unsurprisingly, creators tackling the most extreme meals soar in popularity – including Simeon Adele, known as Sim1Eats, whose speciality is scoffing supersized portions from a giant fish tank.
Please don’t hurt yourself for views. This is an absurd amount of food. It’s not worth it babe. Your health should be a priority over views.
One of Simeon’s followers
Her most popular video, which has 33.6million views, shows her gobbling 10lb of mashed potato and gravy. The spuds alone would be nearly 4,000 calories.
Despite clearly fighting back vomit towards the end of the clip, fans aren’t amused – “Not enough gravy,” barks one, “sad life” mocks a second, and “such a waster” adds another.
The loud and angry voices encourage the most extreme types of Mukbang and overshadow the more rational viewers, including one TikTok user who pleads with Simone.
She says: “Please don’t hurt yourself for views. This is an absurd amount of food. It’s not worth it babe. Your health should be a priority over views x.”
This in turn leads to excess becoming the norm, which health professionals have decreed “dangerous” and a risk of causing death as well as “debilitating” health problems.
Livestream death
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At least two people are believed to have died from Mukbang this year alone – Pan Xiaoting, from China, was part-way through a 10-hour live streamed food binge when she keeled over.
The 24-year-old suffered a fatal stomach tear while scoffing 10kg (1st 8lb) of food – including masses of deep-fried chicken fingers, seafood and chocolate cake, back in July.
An autopsy found her stomach was severely deformed and full of undigested food, which experts say could indicate the organ burst, causing stomach acid and food to seep into her abdomen.
Due to the elasticity of the stomach, it can stretch to hold just over four kilograms of food – but morbidly obese Pan was eating more than double that amount.
That same month, Filipino Mukbanger Dongz Apatan, 38, suffered a fatal stroke shortly after consuming large quantities of fried chicken and rice for one of his videos.
The fatal blood clot in his brain was caused by high blood pressure and ruptured blood vessels, which can be linked to his excessive and unhealthy eating habits.
Other Mukbangers to have caused concern include US star Nicholas Perry, known as Nikocado Avocado, who went from 11st 6lb (160lb) to 29st 5lb (411lb) at his heaviest. He has since undergone a dramatic weight loss transformation.
Scoffing giant portions – including 25,000 calories meals in one sitting – for his 4.6million YouTube fans turned the Pennsylvania native, 32, into a multimillionaire but also left him with debilitating health problems.
Nicholas needed a mobility scooter and considered himself “disabled”. He was also left bedridden after breaking three ribs from “excessive, forceful coughing”, believed to be down to his size, in 2021.
The latter injury and sleep apnea, which is linked to lifestyle, weight and neck size, meant he needed to use a breathing mask throughout the day – sometimes seen in his videos.
Despite regularly declaring himself “healthy” and unaffected by his consumption, in one video after leaving hospital Nicholas moaned at fans: “It’s your fault that I’m over here starving in bed.”
‘Dangerous’ fad
The Sun consulted five doctors, who all agreed that Mukbanging is “a dangerous practice” from both a physical and psychological perspective. They noted it also risks worsening mental health problems and affecting those with eating disorders.
Among them was Dr Star Freudunberg, Gut Health and Wellness Biohacker, of London, who cautioned death is “relatively rare but a serious concern” and the fad can lead to countless fatal and debilitating health problems.
I was the most depressed I’ve ever been in my life, even though I was making the most money I have in my life
Trisha Paytas
They include developing heart problems, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which causes increased blood pressure, high blood sugar levels and abnormal cholesterol levels; as well as gastritis and gastroesophegeal reflux disease.
Dr Freudenberg told The Sun: “The excessive consumption typical in mukbang can place extraordinary stress on the heart, escalating the risk of heart attacks.
“Given these significant health risks, I strongly recommend anyone involved in or enthusiastic about mukbang to reconsider the long-term impacts on their health.”
Dr Laura Geige, MD Pyschologist of Glow Bar London, warns Mukbang can “create a vicious cycle, reinforcing disordered eating patterns” – which can entrap the creators and viewers, some of whom may be battling eating disorders.
She adds: “While the immediate risk of death from a single Mukbang session might be low, the long-term risks associated with such frequent engagement in this practice are very real and should not be underestimated.”
Government crackdowns
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It’s not just health experts who are concerned but governments across the world – some have considered banning the trend altogether.
In 2018, South Korea’s government partially blamed “harm caused by gluttony-encouraging media such as mukbang” for adult obesity rising to nearly 40 per cent and expressed concern that content was not moderated.
China announced a crackdown in 2020, shutting down 13,000 accounts when there were 395,000 videos with 30million views. Now they are launching stricter rules.
In August, Beijing authorities revealed plans to combat videos that promote food waste, “fandom culture” and “money worship” – a particular threat to extreme eating streamers.
Just a month earlier, the Phillippines Health Minister Ted Herbosa threatened to “ban such activities [because] they are unhealthy” after the death of Mukbanger Dongz Apatan.
Mum-of-two Trisha’s main stint Mukbanging spanned four years from 2014 and in that period, she piled on the pounds – gorging from 10st (140lb) to 15st 10lb (220lb).
It’s hard to fight it and unlike addiction to alcohol or smoking you can’t just quit food cold turkey, you have to eat food to live
Trisha Paytas
It led to national fame, with her gaining 5.1million followers and appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, but left her mentally and physically depleted.
She explained: “At 25 years old, I was so exhausted from all the food I ate during Mukbangs and so depressed that I needed to take two naps a day.
“I was the most depressed I’ve ever been in my life, even though I was making the most money I have in my life.
“I was sitting in my house every day figuring out what I was going to eat, then I’d order loads of food, record my video, then look at the comments and post, go to sleep and do it all over again.
“It became a disease for me. People don’t think of fat people having eating disorders but I would binge a lot and then not eat. It’s disordered eating and develops unhealthy patterns.
“It’s hard to fight it and unlike addiction to alcohol or smoking you can’t just quit food cold turkey, you have to eat food to live.”
‘£240k payday’
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Trisha was motivated by money and her most lucrative video, a Pizza Hut feast, earned her $50,000 (£40,000).
Typically each one would earn her between $10,000 (£8,000) and $20,000 (£16,000).
She says: “I did them every day, then at Christmas I did two huge Mukbangs because December was a really high month for advertisements, you’d get triple the money you made all year.
“At times I did three Mukbangs a day, so I was eating over 10,000 calories a day but I didn’t care – I was making so much money. Once I made $300,000 (£240,000) in a month, it’s more than a dollar a calorie.
You see some people trying to hold back the vomit while they are eating, that’s just nuts. Listen to your brain. If you push yourself further and further you may end up like that poor Chinese girl who died on a livestream.
Dean Costello
“People force themselves to continue doing it because they are thinking about the money.
“I know Nikocado very well and he used to say, ‘I’m only doing this for another year, then another two years, but the money becomes addictive.”
Trisha’s meal sizes were no joke.
The Pizza Hut video alone consisted of two medium pizzas, 10 stuffed cheese garlic knots, 10 boneless chicken wings, two large trays of pasta – one fettuccine chicken, the other marinara – three large potions of breadsticks, a giant smores dessert tray and two 500ml fizzy drink bottles.
Her rare Mukbang content now contains much smaller portions.
She feels lucky, thus far, not to have long-lasting health problems but concedes, at her heaviest, her breathing and movement were affected.
She also had a heart murmur.
‘Waste of life’
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Not all Mukbangers are as extreme.
Dean Costello, 41, who lives near Ipswich, in Suffolk, opts for more modest food consumption and tries to choose healthier meals for his content.
The former factory logistics supervisor, who is now unable to work due to disability, started five years ago and has nearly 2.5million views under his YouTube alter-ego English Eats.
Dean, who does two Mukbangs a week, makes enough money to cover his food expenses and says he’s actually lost 1st 6lb (20lb) from the activity. He believes creators must “consume in moderation”.
Dean tells us: “If all you’re going to do is eat greasy, high-fat, disgusting and unhealthy fast food constantly, you’re literally killing yourself for content and it hurts to know that is happening.
“You want people to succeed but it’s sad to see people like Nikocado, he used to be a skinny vegan then he posted every day and was eating giant amounts. He chose money over anything else.
“You see some people trying to hold back the vomit while they are eating, that’s just nuts. Listen to your brain. If you push yourself further and further you may end up like that poor Chinese girl who died on a livestream.
“Her death was a tragedy and a shame… It’s a waste of life. We have one life, we’re only here once so why waste it by putting yourself into a food coma? There are no do-overs.”
This trend toward dangerously sized meals that lead to obesity has only been encouraged by celebs who hop on the viral trends.
In 2020, Florence Pugh scoffed 11 English meals for Vogue, Kylie Jenner has done at least two including one at a fried chicken chain Wingstop and earlier this month, Megan Thee Stallion gobbled countless seafood plates in South Korea.
Sadly, content creators on the most extreme end of the spectrum earn the biggest bucks and are at the forefront of the phenomenon.
Moderation Mukbangers, like Dean, seem to be among a small group who are prioritising health over hits and as time has shown, not doing so can cost lives.
5 health professionals give their verdict on Mukbang
By Josh Saunders
MUKBANGING is the bizarre food-eating trend that has racked up billions of views online – but there are risks, especially for those at the extreme end of the scale.
Here The Sun speaks to health professionals from a range of fields, who give their damning verdicts on the potentially detrimental effects of this new internet phenomenon.
Dr Veronika Matutyte, MD, tells us Mukbang “can significantly impact one’s health” primarily due to the volume of food and types, which are “typically high-calorie, high-fat and high in sugar”.
She explains this can cause “drastic spikes in blood sugar levels”, which make it harder for the body to manage glucose and risks a resistance to insulin – a diabetes precursor.
Dr Matutyte notes a practitioner would have increased fat deposits, which risk the development of cardiovascular diseases due to higher cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
She notes Mukbang could “distort viewer perceptions of normal eating behaviours, potentially leading to eating disorder like binge eating” and “strongly advises” considering the long-term health implications.
Dr Star Freudenberg, an Integrative Gut Health and Wellness Biohacker from London, warns “the risk of death… thought relatively rare is a serious concern”.
She notes gastric ruptures, which have occurred due to stomach tears from “excessive food intake” that can “not only be painful but can lead to critical infections and is potentially fatal if not treated promptly”.
Dr Freudenberg says Mukbang risks says “acute heart problems during these sessions that can be fatal” and notes that “excessive consumption typical” of this hobby “can place extraordinary stress on the heart, escalating the risk of heart attacks”.
As well as noting diabetes as a risk, obesity, metabolic syndrome, gastritis and gastrointestinal disorders, she “strongly recommends” anyone involved or considering “to reconsider”.
Jana Abelovska, Superintendent Pharmacist at Click Pharmacy, says eating large quantities of food in one sitting is “dangerous in a number of different ways” and cites some have suffered “fatally ruptured stomachs”.
She recalls Mukbangers complaints of experiencing digestive issues like diarrhoea, gas and stomach pain and “worrying symptoms” like high blood pressure and heart palpitations – all are linked to bad diet and being overweight.
Ms Abelovska notes there’s also a risk of a person developing a “binge-eating disorder”, which she says is a serious mental health condition that people should seek support or help for.
Amie Alexander, a registered dietician at Nutri Peak, also warned of the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and specific types of cancer.
She added: “Mentally, overeating is likely to lead to guilt, shame, or anxious feelings that could well lead to emotional eating as a secondary event.
“It is essential to understand that the relationship with food is deeply interwoven with mental and emotional well-being, and solving overeating goes far beyond just changing the diet; it involves psychological support.”
Dr Laura Geige, MD Psychologist who works with Glow Bar London, says there could be “life-threatening consequences” for practicing Mukbanging daily or multiple times a day.
She tells us: “The body is not equipped to handle the sudden influx of calories, fats, and sugars that such meals often involve.”
Dr Geige notes the “psychological impact cannot be overlooked” either as there is “a “troubling element of social isolation” linked to Mukbanging and also says it “normalises unhealthy eating behaviours”.
She also adds: “Despite the illusion of connection through a screen, the act encourages solitary eating, which can erode real-life social interactions and support systems, exacerbating feelings of loneliness and depression.”
