If you were to enter the term “Mukbang” into a search bar, thousands of videos of content creators eating food would instantly appear. Actually, the term “eating” is generous. These users are quite literally stuffing their faces with mounds of greasy, fatty, deep-fried food, while awkwardly sitting in front of their camera with a smile. Despite how utterly weird this genre of content is, it is taking social media by storm and carrying a very dark side along with it.
Mukbangs first started to gain popularity back in 2015, when the infamous Nikocado Avocado began posting his videos on YouTube. The “king of Mukbang’s” constant engagement through extreme eating challenges brought him mountains of publicity and money, ultimately trapping him in a vicious weight gain cycle. He put his body through the wringer to maintain his platform, weighing 411 pounds at his heaviest. In many of his videos, he is seen having odd emotional meltdowns, where he admits that inhaling such an extreme amount of calories in one sitting leaves him feeling sick and both physically and emotionally drained.
While his popularity eventually died down and Mukbangs existed quietly for many years, they are now taking over what is arguably today’s most influential app, TikTok. Influencers are taking it to the same extreme that we saw eight years ago, as they sacrifice their health and well-being for views and publicity, essentially getting fat for fame.
One user who goes by Jelly Bean Sweets has quickly fallen victim to Mukbang’s sinister allure. Surely, she films herself eating all kinds of fast food, but she is notorious for sharing her extreme Taco Bell order: a crunchwrap supreme, grilled cheese burrito (extra everything), cantina quesadilla, nacho fries, large baja blast, nacho cheese, spicy ranch, avocado ranch and hot sauce. As if the order itself wasn’t bad enough, the way she eats it is completely repulsive – drowning each item in four different sauces and then inhaling it in less than a minute. With the amount of weight she’s gained in such a short period of time, many are suspecting that she is getting paid by people online to keep eating, simply because they get satisfaction from watching her get obese.
This is not just another fun trend, it is pure gluttony. As Mukbangs glorify excessive food intake and normalize overconsumption, they are effectively influencing viewers to mimic the same behavior. This culture of excess is not only harming people’s physical health, but is fostering unhealthy relationships with food, further distorting society’s perception of what a balanced diet should look like.
Ironically, Mukbangs are causing another form of distortion where people are eating less. Under many of the videos, you’ll find comments saying things like, “I watched this for dinner.” These distorted comments are essentially saying that rather than actually eating a meal, they are watching other people eat to satisfy their hunger. Nothing about this is normal, or healthy.
Mukbangs are not good for anyone – not for the influencer consuming the food and not for the people watching. It is time we stop normalizing such a strange, dangerous fad and go back to eating food the way it’s supposed to be eaten.
