Tuesday, September 15, 2026 - Chinese mukbang influencer Chen Ziyi, known online as Ganfan Yingying, died at 24 after repeated health problems linked to extreme eating content, also known as mukbang in the Korean language.
Her parents announced her death on Sep 4, saying she had
died on Aug 17. Yingying had more than one million followers and had built her
audience by eating large amounts of food during livestreams.
Her final video, posted on Aug 14, showed her speaking from
a hospital bed. She said her potassium level had fallen to 2.3 mmol/L after
repeated overeating and vomiting, Global Times reported (Sep 8).
Yingying said she had been hospitalised before for the same
problem. She also described the pressure from product sponsors that
eating-stream creators face to consume more food to drive sales.
During one livestream, she said she had eaten 60 to 70
preserved eggs. She also admitted to regularly making herself vomit after
eating. Yingying said earning money mattered, but her health had suffered from
the work.
Her death was reportedly linked to cardiac arrest caused by
low potassium. However, her family hasn’t publicly confirmed an official
medical cause.
Dr Chai Qichen from Zhejiang Hospital explained that
overeating alone doesn’t usually cause severe potassium loss.
Repeated vomiting and laxative use can cause the body to
lose large amounts of potassium through stomach and intestinal fluids.
When potassium levels fall too low, the heart’s normal
electrical activity can be disrupted. Severe cases can lead to dangerous heart
rhythms or a heart attack (cardiac arrest).
Yingying’s case has renewed attention on extreme eating
videos, in which larger portions can attract more viewers, sales, and
advertising income.
Careful analysis revealed that some mukbang creators also
spit out the food after appearing to eat it on camera. Those parts are then
edited out, making the meal look as if it were fully consumed.
The practice allows creators to avoid eating large amounts
of unhealthy food while still giving viewers the impression that they did,
solely to attract views, advertising income, and sponsorships.
China’s 2021 Anti-Food Waste Law prohibits content that
promotes excessive food consumption. A 2022 code for online streamers also bans
staged eating, binge eating, and forced vomiting.
The rules exist, but Yingying’s death shows how difficult it
can be to separate online entertainment from the physical cost behind it.
Extreme eating may look like a safe performance on screen.
But behind the camera, the body still pays the ultimate price.
0 Comments