The world of ‘mukbang’ – where online creators share videos of them eating (often excessive) amounts of food while chatting to followers – has been attracting growing criticism.
The trend – which has seen itself escalate in extremes, pushing YouTubers to gorge on meals until it makes them unwell – is also tragically behind the deaths of at least three influencers, some as young as 24, in the last three years.
Worried experts have also expressed concern that the move normalises poor and unhealthy diets – as well as leading to potential nutrition deficiencies.
And now, an increasing amount of social media users appear to be getting their young children involved in mukbang content.
While the trend can be harmless, and often accumulates in adorable videos of kids enjoying a meal with their parents, it has understandably drawn speculation.
Among the most popular creators in the space is TheCrunchBros, which has more than 3.8 million subscribers on YouTube.
‘Father + Son duo doing what we do best : EAT!’ the description reads. ‘We’re a hybrid ASMR + MUKBANG team Crunching our way through good eats. All videos are edited by CrunchMom, help us get to 1 million subs so she’ll do a video with us!!’
Jeff and his seven-year-old son Jordan have won over the internet with their adorable clips, and the family’s youngest, Kaiya, has also featured in some recent taste-test videos after making cameos from as young as three years old.
Another hugely popular channel is run by BANKII , from Thailand , who often does mukbang videos with his son – and has a whopping 9.05 million YouTube subscribers
While American channels are by far the most popular, the increase in parent and child mukbangs is international
While the trend can be harmless, and often accumulates in adorable videos of kids enjoying a meal with their parents, it has understandably drawn speculation
Another huge channel, Twin Roozy , based in South Korea features two young girls who make mukbang videos interlaced with whimsical skits and fun sets
Elsewhere, Sara eats – with more than 2,200 subscribers – also understood to be from India, has started sharing videos documenting meal times with her son
Fans are in awe over the young foodies – with Jordan often on hand to offer wise commentary – and they have even come out with a cookbook for ‘casual and fun Korean- and Japanese-inspired recipes’.
Speaking to Voyage LA, Jeff revealed that the channel grew out of a want to share his son’s food adventures with wider family.
‘Our journey first started off by asking Jordan if he wanted to make some videos to share with everyone,’ he explained.
‘He was excited, he loves food, and he also loves to cook- he’s been a foodie since day one, so he jumped on board right away.
‘We wanted a way to stay connected to our friends and family back in 2020 when things shut down.
‘We thought putting out fun videos would be a great way to do so. Jordan has been funny and has had a huge personality ever since he was born, so we thought it would be great to capture it.
Just this week, a morbidly obese TikToker known for sharing videos of himself binge-eating has died aged 24 of weight-related health problems
Efecan Kultur, who boasted 155,000 followers on TikTok , was well known in his native Turkey as a ‘mukbang’ streamer
‘It turns out a lot of people agreed, and to our surprise, our videos were a hit with not just our family but with a lot of people around the world.
‘We started off on YouTube, and then a friend of ours suggested we hop onto TikTok, so we started doing that, and that’s when things really started taking off… We even came out with a cookbook recently, Cooking with the Crunchbros. Jordan became a published author at six years old!’
Another hugely popular channel is run by BANKII, from Thailand, who often does mukbang videos with his son – and has a whopping 9.05 million YouTube subscribers.
Clips racking up thousands of views on social media show the duo feasting on everything from pizza to spaghetti and strawberries.
In other instances, creators who themselves are vloggers feature their sons and daughters on their page.
For instance, US-based Everydaydays – who has 590,000 subscribers – has made a handful of mukbang videos with her teenage son Drew, 14.
Another popular channel, with 2.58 million subscribers, is Queen Beast – often features her eight-year-old Layla in content.
Fans are quick to comment how adorable they find the videos, and how sweet the mother-daughter dynamic is.
Clips racking up thousands of views on social media show the duo feasting on everything from pizza to spaghetti and strawberries
Akum Amons , a YouTuber based in India, has more than 45,000 subscribers, and often makes mukbangs with both his son and daughter
While American channels are by far the most popular, the increase in parent and child mukbangs is international.
Akum Amons, a YouTuber based in India, has more than 45,000 subscribers, and often makes mukbangs with both his son and daughter.
Elsewhere, Sara eats – with more than 2,200 subscribers – also understood to be from India, has started sharing videos documenting meal times with her son.
Another huge channel, Twin Roozy, based in South Korea features two young girls who make mukbang videos interlaced with whimsical skits and fun sets.
They have more than 10.7 million subscribers.
The interactions between parents and children are often humorous and heartwarming – but experts have expressed worries at the trend.
Speaking to the New Scientist, Aisling Pigott, a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association and a registered dietician said she is worried about how the videos will affect young audiences.
‘Eating together should be a family time to bond and share, but it’s being used as a spectator sport, which is a sad reflection of modern society,’ she expressed.
‘We know early years’ nutrition sets little ones up for life – both in terms of physical risk and emotional relationship with food.’
Elsewhere, Glen Donnar, who studied the phenomenon at RMIT University in Melbourne, told the outlet that though it may seem strange, mukbangs featuring kids are growing in popularity.
‘It seems adults watch for a mix of positive or negative reasons,’ they revealed.
‘Either because they think the kids are cute or the family dynamic sweet, or because they want to loudly decry the perceived manipulation of the children, the parents’ commodification of their children’s image, and food choices deemed extremely unhealthy.’
The concerns around the world of mukbang are a myriad – not just when it comes to children.
Just this week, a morbidly obese TikToker known for sharing videos of himself binge-eating has died aged 24 of weight-related health problems.
Efecan Kultur, who boasted 155,000 followers on TikTok, was well known in his native Turkey as a ‘mukbang’ streamer.
The influencer, who died on Friday March 7, had been hospitalised since December 2024 due to health problems as a result of being overweight.
He could no longer stand up and suffered breathing problems as well as constant bruising due to his size, which triggered mobility issues.
Bedridden and unable to breathe without a machine, he was even unable to visit his mother’s grave after she reportedly died one year ago.
Efecan was allowed to continue his treatment at home, where he ultimately passed away.
His funeral was held at the Celaliye Mosque in the Buyukcekmece Celaliye Neighbourhood, in Istanbul province, before his body was buried in the Silivri Gumusyaka Cemetery.
Efecan is not the first content creator who lost their life at a tragically young age as a result of eating for views.
A streamer in China died while broadcasting a 10-hour binge to her followers. Pan Xiaoting died on July 14 from a suspected stomach tear while she gorged on 10kg of food.
Autopsy results revealed that her stomach had become severely deformed and filled with undigested food, suggesting that her stomach could have burst, causing stomach acid and food to leak into her abdomen.
Xiaoting – who was morbidly obese – became famous in China for her mukbang live streams.
And in January 2023, TikTok star Taylor Brice LeJeune (known online as Waffler69), who had some 1.7 million followers on the platform, died from a suspected heart attack.
Taylor, who was just 33-years-old at the time of his death, was known for his quirky food review videos, in which he would consume novelty foods as well as expired groceries, including promotional Addams Family cereal from the 90s.
Large quantities of canned cheeseburgers and a giant Froot Loop were among the foods he consumed online.
The mukbang trend has become increasingly extreme, with mukbangers eating larger quantities of often unhealthy food, prompting doctors to warn that more people may die.
American TikToker Brittany Sauer tragically passed away last year aged 28 from complications due to Type 2 diabetes.
In Sauer’s final videos she said she felt had had ‘ruined her life’ with binge eating.
