Photo: Screenshot from the WeChat account of China News Service

The recent death of a 24-year-old mukbang (eating livestreaming) influencer – from cardiac arrest reportedly linked to low potassium levels – has prompted doctors to warn of the health risks of self-induced vomiting and the laxative use among mukbangers, China News Service reported on Tuesday. 

The parents of the influencer, who announced her death on social media last Friday, said their daughter, known online as “Yingying” and surnamed Chen, died on August 17. She had more than 1 million followers.

In her final video posted on August 14, Yingying said repeated overeating had caused her potassium levels to drop and landed her in the hospital. Her blood potassium level had fallen as low as 2.3, she said, acknowledging that the condition was caused by her eating-streaming activities. She reminded viewers that “although making money is important, health should always come first.”

This was not the first time she had been hospitalized for the same reason. In the video, she attributed her low potassium levels largely to her work as a mukbanger and her long-term habit of inducing vomiting. Yingying said eating-streaming sales can be physically demanding, noting that she once had to eat 60 to 70 preserved eggs during a livestream. Other products required her to keep eating as well. She said mukbangers often face pressure to eat more to boost sales, even when their health may not withstand the strain. 

Photo: Screenshot from the WeChat account of China News Service

Chai Qichen, a doctor from the Department of General Practice at Zhejiang Hospital, explained that binge eating itself does not directly cause severe potassium loss. The key issue lies in two practices commonly seen in the mukbang industry: inducing vomiting and using laxatives. To maintain their figures while continuing to eat large amounts, some mukbangers eat in front of the camera and then force themselves to vomit off camera, or take laxatives to quickly eliminate the food they have consumed. 

Potassium concentrations are much higher in gastric and intestinal fluids than in blood. Repeated vomiting or diarrhea can therefore lead to significant potassium loss and progressively lower blood potassium levels, according to Chai. 

Global Times