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Do Mukbang Videos Encourage Obesity?
Should binge-eating videos be banned?
Who can forget the barf-o-rama scene in Stand by Me?
And if anyone has been on a coach journey with toddlers on a warm day, you’ll know how vomiting spreads like a Mexican wave.
But who’s stomach turned watching the eating competition in the film before Lardass erupted? I think there’s something deeply unpleasant about looking at people gorging like pigs at a trough. No insult to pigs intended.
Although judging by the number of YouTube videos of binge eating, I can see that I’m not speaking for everyone.
Some binge eaters are huge, if you’ll excuse the pun, online. Nikocado Avocado, real name Nicholas Perry, from Pennsylvania, ate his way to millions of dollars and 3.5 million YouTube followers by eating more than 10,000 calories in front of the camera. He also had a few breakdowns, which he attributes to eating anxiety-inducing fast food.
Why do people enjoy watching binge-eaters?
Are viewers emotionally connected or perversely ghoulish?
Why are these videos so popular? Mukbang, as these videos are called, refers to the South Korean words for ‘eating’ [‘meokneun’] and ‘broadcast’ [‘bangsong’], where individuals eat food and interact with the viewers).
Dr Andrew Harris, a senior lecturer of psychology at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, said,
“Mukbang videos centre around consumption and indulgence, potentially reinforcing a cycle of overeating or unhealthy food relationships.”
Dr Harris believes that the lack of community and living and eating alone fosters a need for mukbang. But there is a difference in these videos from East to West. In Korean mukbang, the emphasis is on the food. They provide a greater sensory experience by chewing and slurping their food, giving a more ASMR (autonomous, sensory, meridian response) experience.
Whereas western versions focus more on the eater.
Research reports that some motivations for mukbang include feeling emotionally connected to the content creators and other viewers. It has been shown to help individuals…
