A Feast for the Eyes: Mukbang videos have recently grown in popularity on TikTok but can lead to unhealthy eating habits

Since March, my TikTok For You page has been filled with mukbangs — a video of someone eating a meal while interacting with the audience. 

The videos range from fast food mukbangs like Raising Canes and Wingstop to seafood boil meals with pounds of king crab and lobster. 

As someone who finds themselves watching these videos regularly and immediately craving whatever is eaten, I was surprised to find out mukbangs can also have a negative effect on viewers and mukbang consumers. 

Over the summer, TikToker @jellybean.sweets had an immense increase in popularity as she started posting up to 26 mukbangs a week, three videos a day for each meal and sometimes an extra dessert or a snack. She quickly gained followers and fame from the way she ate in her mukbangs — extremely fast, messy and overall repulsive. 

The TikToker began receiving hundreds of comments saying, “Don’t forget to breathe” and “No one is going to take your food, please slow down and chew.” I instantly felt bad for her, but on the other hand, I was grossed out by the content she would make, ruining my love for mukbang videos. 

Fans also began to notice her gradual weight gain from consuming over 3,500 calories a day. Her new routine has people comparing Jellybeansweets to another well-known mukbanger, Niko Avocado, who experienced tremendous weight gain from mukbang videos as well. But Jellybean hasn’t stopped making the mukbangs yet, due to gaining loads of attention and money off of the videos.

According to Body and Soul, watching mukbang videos may have a damaging effect on your mental health, especially if you already have a disordered relationship with food. They also state how mukbangs promote unreasonable portions, similar to binge eating behavior.

While mukbangs may be fun to watch at first, if one partakes in them too often, they can lead to unhealthy eating habits. So the next time you go to watch a mukbang video or engage in the comments, think about how your comment may affect the consumer and their eating habits.