An extreme competitive eater has died during a 10-hour livestream where she ate 10kg of food.
Pan Xiaoting died on camera while her fans watched on helplessly in horror.
The 24-year-old from China was known for her eating sessions and would regularly upload Mukbangs online - which is where someone eats on camera while chatting to viewers.
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The concept started in South Korea and became popular in the early 2010s, going on to be a worldwide trend.
Xiaoting received warnings from her parents and loved ones over fears that the hobby could be hazardous to her health but despite this, she continued to livestream her eating sessions up to 10 hours at a time.
According to China News, Xiaoting had even been hospitalized previously for gastrointestinal bleeding.
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On July 14, fans were horrified when the streamer died on camera during what became her last livestream.
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An autopsy revealed that Xiaoting’s stomach had been left “deformed” and was full of “undigested food”, suggesting that her stomach could have burst open, causing stomach acid and food to leak into her abdomen.
Reacting on X, formerly Twitter, to the news of her passing, one user wrote: “literally a victim of gluttony.”
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Another said: “I’ll never understand why anyone would want to watch someone eat.”
A third said: “I feel so bad for people that do these to fill their cravings for views and attention.”
A fourth added: “That's terrible. Why do people try and glorify obesity these days?”
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While a fifth wrote: “When you think that there are people dying of hunger... it's maddening.”
China has set regulations on online platforms to restrict streamers from eating excessively during Mukbangs, with some content creators even facing fines if they violate the new rules.
Senior lecturer of psychology at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, Dr Andrew Harris, said: “Mukbang videos center around consumption and indulgence, potentially reinforcing a cycle of overeating or unhealthy food relationships.
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“While some studies suggest that watching mukbang videos can alleviate feelings of loneliness by providing a sense of social connection or companionship, others indicate that excessive consumption of these videos may exacerbate loneliness by substituting deeper real-life social interactions with more superficial virtual ones.”
Other creators have received criticism for the amount of food they consume on camera.
Nicholas Perry is an American internet personality known on YouTube as Nikocado Avocado whose well-documented weight gain over the years has sparked both criticism and concern from viewers.