Viewers watched in horror as Chinese mukbang creator Pan Xiaoting died live on the stream while eating on July 14. According to local news outlet Soho, the 24-year-old’s post mortem showed she died due to overeating.
Mukbang is a Korean word for an online multimedia stream in which a host consumes varying amounts of food and interacts with their viewers.
“An autopsy revealed that her stomach was filled with undigested food. She died suddenly due to her pursuit of getting a higher revenue on her streams and disregarded for her health, and her stomach was full due to eating too much,” reported Soho.
Pan Xiaoting originally worked as a waiter, but once she discovered the niche online space, she did not look back.
“She quit her job and devoted herself to mukbang, and began to open her own live broadcast room online. Although eating broadcasts did not bring much income at the beginning, with the increase in the number of fans, she was able to get certain rewards,” continued the news outlet.
She initially did mukbang to make money, but apparently gradually became accustomed to this excessive manner of eating and began to neglect her health.
Pan Xiaoting rented a separate studio for her streaming sessions to create a more professional environment.
She reportedly ate up to 10 kg of food in a single sitting and spent up to 10 hours per day eating. These severe eating habits resulted in several hospitalisations, including one for stomach haemorrhage.
The practice of eating large quantities of food each time the live show aired reportedly made Pan Xiaoting’s parents anxious and concerned, but they had no way of stopping their daughter from eating herself to death.
IOL