Episode 147: Do Mukbangs Promote Food Addiction?
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Episode Description
In this episode of The Up-Beet Dietitians podcast, Emily and Hannah discuss mukbangs and if they promote binge eating, food addiction, and unhealthy eating habits. Nikocado Avocado, Jelly Bean Sweets, and Matt Stonie are all popular mukbangs that people have a lot to say about and the girls comment on. Tune in to hear their thoughts on mukbangs!
Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube to listen.
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0:08
All right, hello, everyone.
Welcome back to the Update Dietitians podcast.
Hi guys, welcome back.
We are talking about like trending TikTok stuff again today, talking all about muck bombs.
0:23
I do want to know how you pronounce it, Emily, because this is a word that we don't say very often.
So I always love hearing your pronunciation.
We'll get there in a second.
OK.
No, go ahead and say it now.
Go ahead and say it now.
I say mukbangs, but I don't think that's correct.
OK.
The only reason I think it's mukbang is because, as we'll get to, it originates in South Korea and I.
0:44
Think that's how they say it.
I think that's how it's said there.
As they say it, yeah, I know I say it incorrectly.
I.
Just I want to say mukbang, though it looks like mukbang and I feel like a lot of Americans do say it that way too.
Yeah.
But anyway, we're talking about mukbongs today before we get into the nitty gritty, go to YouTube, subscribe, like, comment, do all the things over there.
1:09
We've been including lots of like these Tiktoks that we discussed, putting them in our YouTube videos for you to see.
So I'm sure today we'll include some different like mukbang videos that are trending right now.
Also be sure to check out our exclusive content on Spotify, which you can get for 299 a month.
1:27
We talk about random not dietitian Y stuff over there.
It gets unhinged.
So it's also fun.
And then finally, of course, today we'll have some trigger warnings for eating disorders and very specifically binge eating disorder.
We'll get into that probably quite a bit today I would assume.
1:46
Yes, it's gonna be quite an episode and we're excited to get into it.
So without further ado, let's just talk about what these are.
Forgive me if I ever say it wrong.
Same.
So what are mukbangs?
2:04
I can see your your wheels just turning really hard.
Like I really have to think about.
It.
These are videos where viewers watch the host, the person in the video eating various amounts of foods.
And it, like Hannah mentioned, it originated in South Korea.
2:22
And it kind of roughly translates to quote UN quote eating shows.
And there's a lot that kind of goes behind like a mukbang and why it's successful and why we like it.
And it's very important to understand these like Korean values and their culture.
2:42
We're not going to really be talking about that too much today though, because from the title, you'll probably know we'll be talking a little bit more about this food addiction side of it.
But we just wanted to recognize there's a lot more that goes into it than just eating in front of a camera.
2:59
Sometimes they're live.
I don't know if you've ever seen a live mukbang.
I've only ever seen recorded ones.
And then they're like uploaded on to like Tiktok, Instagram, YouTube, whatever it is.
Yeah, a lot of like the live ones would be on, like YouTube.
3:19
So in like America at least, we kind of like adapted our version of mukbongs here.
YouTube is kind of like the main place that started happening, of course, 'cause that was here before Tiktok even was.
And so lots of like the big mukbongers as well lovingly refer them, refer to them as today they would do like live broadcasting.
3:42
And that's kind of a good segue into our next piece, which is like, why do people even watch these?
Like, what's the appeal?
A lot of it, especially when going live, I think is that parasocial effect.
It's like you're talking with your audience.
They're kind of like giving you feedback and the viewer is able to feel like they're like having a meal with someone, even if they're like not.
4:03
There's a few other reasons too we'll get into in a second, but I think that especially goes into the live broadcasting, which again, we're not talking about that today as much because more so we're discussing like the trendy TikTok side of this.
But yeah, there is.
4:21
Do you agree?
It's kind of like that parasocial side of it for sure.
I'd say definitely for live because well, we're getting like Glaze over this for what their purposes are behind the mukbang.
But I feel like a lot of it is feeling like you're eating with someone kind of more that entertainment, chatting with them.
4:43
That's often times what the live is for is like more having more that direct interaction anyway than a pre recorded video.
And we have the comment sections on like the Tik Toks, for example, and those are very engaging and active.
5:00
I guess it's a better word I wanted to say, which is why these are so controversial.
Again as we'll get to keep getting ahead of myself, but yeah, I feel like the lives that parasocial like relationship is very very big, but other reasons why these are enjoyed and frequently watched is entertainment just pure entertainment along with that ASMR sometimes depending on the content creator, there's often a lot of like eating sounds and slurping and crunching not my cup of tea my.
5:31
Night.
I couldn't see you liking that either.
Yeah, I hate the noise, the sound of people chewing.
Like I'm one of those people that makes me irrationally angry.
So the ASMR side isn't out for me, but there is a lot of potential there between like.
5:47
People love it the.
Chewing, like swallowing is a lot, a lot of interesting noises that you know, there's a lot of types of ASMR and some people enjoy them.
It's fine.
And that kind of leads into another reason people watch these, which you sent me a video about this.
6:08
I hadn't really even thought of it this way because it's just how my brain works, I think, which is fortunate for me, honestly.
But some mukbang creators lean into like the sexual side of this content.
I learned today when I was like doing research for this or something called feeder content.
6:25
Have you heard of?
This apparently.
The type of kink and the the content creator, the host of the book Bong will like make content for this reason.
So I think that one girl that you had sent me that was probably like feeding into this would be considered like a feeder content creator.
6:48
Would they like intentionally know they're making content for that?
Purpose.
Yeah, there's definitely a couple of them where I didn't see anything.
But then I like the Commons kind of direct in a certain way.
I'm like.
Exactly.
My brain didn't like, think of it that way 'cause I'm not looking out for it, I guess.
7:09
But if we don't?
Looking for that?
Then it's out.
It's out there.
Yeah, and we don't kink shame.
This is a safe space for all kinks as long as it's consensual and not hurting anyone.
But that's definitely, that's what I was saying with like the live videos, I could potentially see it going in that direction.
7:32
Oh, I I don't get I'm not on only fans.
I've never even like gotten on there for any reason, but I am sure there is like mukbang mukbang food content on only fans.
But.
It has to be.
Yeah, definitely speculating there, but I mean has to be, right?
7:48
Yeah, there's gonna be a lot on there as is, so why not a mukbanger?
Exactly, and if you can get it for free on TikTok, you can definitely charge for it elsewhere.
Yeah, Yeah.
So those are kind of different reasons why people might enjoy or watch mukbangs.
8:08
And we're going to talk a little bit more now about why it's so controversial.
There's been a lot more conversation around what mukbang, mukbangs there.
There's my.
I know.
I think first strike.
How mukbangs potentially feed into like food addiction and a lot of the discussion around like making money around this, like the more the shock value, the better your videos do and kind of that slippery slope.
8:40
So the specific claims right now at this moment that are trending are people are saying they're promoting, normalizing, enabling these content creators to promote binge eating, food addiction and self harm.
9:01
And it kind of revolves around like the like, like I said, like the views in the comments, the more shock value you have, the more views you get, the more money you make from the creator fun on TikTok.
And then they also like to bring up the sugar and salt, how that feeds into like the dopamine and makes you addicted to it.
9:19
And it's like this whole cycle where it just keeps going over and over again and the people keep doing it.
A lot of it is, I feel like a lot of the focus is at least America.
9:35
It's a lot of fast food and like giant quantities of food.
I will note my first thought whenever this is happening, when I see like the amount they're buying, I'm like how expensive is that's?
What I think too, I'm like, Dang, I know.
9:51
I was like to do this regularly.
I'm like, I hope you're making a lot of money to keep this up because I could not like afford to eat out that often with that copious like amount.
Like, Dang, I wish I had that much money.
But one of the most popular ones Hannah mentioned in our notes is canes mukbangs that are like a fast food chicken restaurant.
10:17
And often times people get the huge cup of like cane sauce.
We'll include a little pig and like, yes, OK, I like, I'm always blown away by like when they take everything and dunk it.
It's like probably a.
Soda like a soda cup?
10:35
Like the paper cup you get when you get a soda, they get it full of sauce which I'm guessing it's like ordered specifically.
Oh yeah, and like the shock value of like, dunking everything in it.
All over your car or your table, whatever.
You're that's, that's The funny thing about all the time.
10:50
When I see how messy the sauces are, I'm like their.
Hands.
Yeah, it's everywhere.
I hate it.
I'm like you.
Can not do this.
We are not the at all.
You know I'm.
Like you're poor car or wherever you are, but a lot of it it that's like the biggest controversy right now is how they think, like the views, the comments, the money, all the salt, the sugar, it all feeds into this push to keep doing what you're doing, which like I will note, as we are both money motivated individuals, the more money you would make.
11:27
It would make sense to want to create more content like this to make more money.
That's that seems sensible.
I mean, we literally were just talking about our podcast and like, which content has been doing a little bit better.
And so we intend to keep making videos and podcasts around the type of content that seems to do well.
11:48
It just makes sense that they would continue this type of content when that is what's performing and when it's so, like Emily said, shock valuey and just like it grabs your attention, like, of course it's going to get all these views.
12:04
Yeah, yeah.
But yeah, there's all that controversy around like them saying the comments saying that the, the host, the content creator, the mukbanger is just promoting binge eating, promoting food addiction.
12:22
They're like making it OK, enabling this type of eating, this type of behavior.
And I feel so conflicted about that.
I do too.
That's what kind of I was so excited for today's episode 'cause I feel.
12:40
Like I think it's not gonna be a straight answer.
Yeah, I think today is really gonna be a discussion and it's not gonna be as simple as like are they or aren't they promoting binge type eating 'cause it's I think if it's with the person like some they like, for example.
12:55
OK, getting ahead of myself, let's go into the mukbang creators.
Yeah.
There's one his name.
His name is Matt Stoney.
I don't know him.
I don't know this one.
I'm so surprised because he is like an OG been around forever.
13:10
He is more of a competitive eater.
That's like his like job title literally as competitive eater.
That's definitely why I do not know him.
Competitive eating freaks me out.
He he can get sucked down fast.
It's kind of wild.
Yeah, Ross.
13:27
Ross actually is the one who introduced me to him.
We we've watched his videos before.
People don't tend to critique him for promoting binge eating or food addiction, and I want to go as far as to say it might be because of his body size.
13:45
I was that was going to say it 100% is because of his body size.
Because Nicocado Avocado.
Have you heard of him?
Yes, I love his fame.
Same.
Amazing.
He is definitely one.
14:00
He uses a lot of shock value.
Oh my gosh, big time.
His weight has changed over the years and that is one of the reasons why he is so talked about.
And so he is called out for promoting binge type eating, food addiction, self harm because of the larger body that he is now in.
14:19
So I think that's a really huge part of all of this.
Like I feel like if people were doing these mukbangs and everyone was quote UN quote good way, you know, societally society approved body size, we would have way less of these claims.
14:35
But because people are sometimes in larger bodies and also eating food that's so frequently demonized, at least here in America with the buck bongs like the fast food and take out, our brains automatically go to like they're doing a bad thing by making this content.
I was going to say this last mukbanger we're going to talk about.
14:56
I feel like because so Jelly Bean sweets is a tik toker and she feeds a lot until like she's a mukbang creator and her weight has changed over probably the last like year or two.
15:11
I don't know the specific timeline, but like since she's really started consistently doing mukbangs, her weight has changed and this discussion has come up a lot more.
And like Nick Acado Avocado's name has been pulled into it alongside her.
15:29
So like look at him or they compare him her to him and they're like, this is like, I'm worried about this is a new Nick Acado avocado and everyone gets hate comments.
We'll note that.
So maybe like way back in the beginning or like every mukbanger I'm sure is getting a hate comment, like stop promoting binge eating like the everyone gets hate comments.
15:53
But the number has dramatically increased for her as people have been talking about her weight more.
And I think a lot of it is related to her body size because like, like you said, Matt Stoney probably like what society thinks is or believes is an acceptable body size.
16:19
He's doing these like crazy food challenges and like competitive eating.
But since he looks what we think is acceptable, it's fine.
But if people's weight changes, which like it probably will if you're doing it this consistently as a.
16:37
Career like as a career?
Your body is going to change based off of that.
And now it's like, oh, they're promoting food addiction and look what's happening.
16:53
Jelly Bean sweets.
I don't know her real name.
I just know her as Jelly Bean sweets.
Her her views are like always, so high.
You know she's getting Monday from her posts because they're always over a minute long.
She does like watch me eat all of this in under 5 minutes or whatever and so her videos are always at least like a few minutes long which means she is getting money from 2:00.
17:15
Lots of money.
Yeah.
And she's, like, known for, like, being very messy, eating so quickly.
Like Anna said, like, a lot of it is like, speed eating.
And I think a lot of it is like fat phobia.
And that's why suddenly it's a bad mukbangs are a bad thing.
17:34
Yeah, like, I don't know how long she's been been making content for these mukbang videos, but it's only been recently that I've seen her become trending more because of the discussion of her weight allegedly increasing.
17:51
I'm weirdly sometimes on the milk bong space, but I think it's purely based off of what food I'm craving and, and Tiktok knows that.
So I've seen, I've seen her for like a while really, but I, but I don't think, I think really recently she's leaned more to like the like speed eating and like the messiness because it wasn't always like that.
18:16
Before it was just like chatting and eating.
Like let me tell you about my day while I eat.
So like, if her views are going in the millions and she's making bank, of course you're going to want to keep making money.
18:32
That's what this capitalistic society taught us to do.
Yeah.
And then you're also getting all these like, followers and these comments like there's just like dopamine coming from everywhere.
Yeah, so like.
You're going to chase that.
18:48
And to create more content, she needs to eat more food.
So her body is going to change.
I, I feel for her because I think it's like a tricky place to be in, especially like mukbangers because like any mukbang account, when I see it, I'm like, I don't know if you ever had this thought, but I was like, could I be a mukbomber?
19:15
I did have that thought for a second, but then I was like, no, I'm too much of an iPad kid and need to watch my little shows.
I get so mad recording myself.
That's a good point, yeah.
I was like, that dream died very quickly.
19:32
You know what, that's actually funny because I've been posting or trying to post some YouTube videos where do like my meal support, like eat breakfast with me and I've gotten a nice comment saying they were helpful, but I don't like making them that much because I also like just talked to the camera the entire time.
19:48
I'm like eating a meal.
I'm like, this is so boring for me.
I'm glad it's helping you guys.
That's really great.
But for me, like I'm just like sitting here talking about whatever my brain comes up with literally to a camera with no one else around.
So same.
I also could not be a bug bomber I don't think.
20:04
No, I also feel like a lot of it is at least now it's like a lot of shock value.
Before it used to be like maybe more like the tame meal support.
But now it's like there's this one girl, I don't know her name, but she does a lot of like sweets I know and cook like I remember, like cinnamon rolls and crumble cookies specifically.
20:27
I'm sure you've seen her.
I'm sure I just don't remember her name.
And one, I think about the price as I always do, as we do, and I'm like, wow, this is expensive to buy all these things and like constantly be eating them.
20:44
And then two, I like eating at my own pace.
I like not recording myself.
Well, I I actually like I'm very some a little bit self-conscious about how I eat.
So I don't want that recorded, but I think it's a tricky place to be in because like, I also then consume, I enjoy my contacts.
21:09
I like seeing the food, what they're eating, yeah.
So that's why I think again, it like depends on the creator on if they are like intentionally promoting certain habits or not.
Because some are just eating tasty food and they want to share with their community.
And even if their weight is a certain way or a certain or a certain size or weight maybe changes, just because they're eating foods that the commenters have deemed as unhealthy does not mean that they're doing that on purpose.
21:38
They're not promoting that or enabling things intentionally.
They're likely just like eating food that they enjoy and that's the kind of content they want to create.
Yeah.
Yeah, it is tricky.
I don't think it's as easy as yes or no, like this is a problem or it's not a problem, it's just not that black and white.
21:55
Yeah.
The last girl you mentioned, though, yeah, yeah.
I like Loki, love her, but I think the weirdest reason.
So I feel like her name's Jenna, and I feel like that's completely wrong.
I thought for some reason.
22:11
Because I was looking at it today and that does not ring a bell.
OK with something but the girl who like she's like her big thing is like weight loss.
She's like lost X amount of weight.
But she's known as like the cottage cheese and mustard girl where she dips every single thing on her plate or she says like a radish with mustard, watermelon without mustard because I'm people like and start like trolling her and they're like watermelon with mustard.
22:42
But I would consider her content mukbang content because she's showing what she's eating.
And I don't really know specifically what then constitutes a mukbang, but like, we're eating with her.
Well I saw that she was replying to a video or excuse me, she made a video replying to a comment saying that they were happy that her mukbang content isn't eating quote UN quote unhealthy foods.
23:12
And she was like, Oh yeah I totally agree, that's why I do this yada yada yada.
Like kind of self promoting.
Like why her content is better than the other mukbang mukbangers.
Yeah.
So I think it is so mukbang.
I think it I think the amount of food and the type of food is up.
23:30
It depends on the content created, what kind of video they want to be making.
It does tend to like the shock value ones are definitely the ones that are like the fast food and you know, the giant cane sauce, the dozen crumble cookies like those are the ones that definitely are more controversial I'd say.
23:48
Yeah, I feel like we shouldn't mention the OG or one of the OG mukbangers on YouTube, Trisha Paytas.
OK did she do book bomb content that used?
To be a huge part of her brand.
Weeks ago I'm.
Not super into like history and all that, so I wasn't I.
24:08
Know a weird amount of Trisha Paytas lore I think honestly because what is her name?
Nicole, Nicole Raffi Raffi, she goes does the chronically online girl videos and she always finds a way to bring Trisha in, which I like love, but a lot of Oh my gosh, her latest video are eight months ago.
24:41
Never mind.
That's not a lot of it is or used to be like mukbangs and she was like known on YouTube for doing that quite a bit.
Oh yeah, I'm looking at some of her like more recent videos and she still does like eating content.
25:01
Trying the grilled Mac and cheese sandwich at the Melt.
What I eat in a day, 22 weeks pregnant.
Well yeah, I know she's been on the on the tube forever.
I just didn't know that she did like mukbang stuff.
25:18
I forgot how long it was for, but there was like a period of time where that was like what she primarily did.
Oh yeah, like six years ago, seven years ago, 10K calorie challenge, epic cheat day, which that is also a side of the mukbang content that I would say as promoting disorder to eating is when they pull in like the cheat day mentality and like restricting prior to a mukbang or a cheat day.
25:44
Which I think it's worth noting too, that when we talk about things like quote UN quote, food addiction, binge type eating, people often fail to discuss that the restriction is one of the biggest triggers of that behavior.
And so if the content creator is like intentionally discussing that, like I made sure to fast for 24 hours prior to this mukbang, I would say that is a problem.
26:14
Man, She's been on the tube forever.
I know.
Yeah, I think there is not a clear answer, as we've kind of been saying this whole time.
And I think that I like to always say it's about intention, but I think sometimes even if we're trying to be helpful, it could potentially be harmful.
26:36
But then I think there are also times where people are just doing normal behaviors that like if you were an average person and put in their situation, you'd probably do the same thing, IE driven by money.
But I think the at the end of the day, a lot of this is body size related.
27:01
I think it's what the content of the food is.
It's like the perfect combination of the two is like OK or like a couple combinations can be fine.
But it's when people start to see the like bad foods the people like in larger bodies.
27:23
That's when it becomes Oh no, exactly.
No, it's a problem.
But it wasn't a problem when your stick thin girl eats 10K galleries.
Exactly, If you are in a smaller body and eating quote, UN quote, unhealthy food, it's cool.
27:45
If you're in a larger body eating quote UN quote healthy food, that's cool too.
But if you're in a larger body eating unhealthy food, like you are promoting food addiction, you're an enabler.
This is binge eating on, you know, on TikTok.
This applies to so many things, like those in larger bodies are always getting the short end of the stick when it comes to content like this.
28:14
I think at the end of the day, too, it's important to just say, like, if you have any kind of disordered eating or eating disorder history and you find these videos to be triggering, especially if you have bingeing disorder.
I've seen comments like that where they'll say, like, this is triggering my binge eating disorder, I shouldn't watch these.
Like, by all means, like unfollow block, like try to get your algorithms played a different way because it won't always, even if the person is well-intentioned, the content creator, I mean, it may not serve you personally.
28:42
Yeah.
That's OK.
Not everything is individualized to us.
But yeah, despite.
What we think, yeah.
Yeah, especially with the poor you page when it feels very.
It's like my FBI agent knows me.
29:00
Yeah.
Or it's like.
Why did my FBI agent show me this video?
This is so off.
Ground.
Yeah, Yeah.
Stay safe, guys.
Protect your peace.
Stay safe out.
There, I mean, it's a scary world, but I think there's a lot of nuance around this that it's not like our straightforward answer.
29:24
I think that's OK.
Yeah.
We also shouldn't be body shaming people.
I think that's probably a nice little lasting message is don't.
Let's not be mean about people's bodies.
Just like leave the body chat out of it.
29:44
Yeah.
Simple as that.
This was I feel like a more tame episode compared to our other ones.
My.
Heart rate is not through the roof today, so that feels good.
Yeah, not feeling stressed and down about the world, just a little bit of a makes you think type situation, which is good.
30:04
Yeah, well, today.
Oh, I got the question for Bill's question.
We should do like what would you do?
A dream mukbang, OK.
Like like a we could do a restaurant or a food item, OK.
30:20
I also have a story to share from last weekend.
About that relates.
To food, yeah.
Oh OK, I was like, were you forced to do a mukbang against?
Your I was not forced.
I did post or it's going to come out.
Well, it'll be out by now.
When you guys hear this, a review of a certain restaurant, go check out the bottles question if you want to hear about it.
30:42
Thanks for listening guys.
We'll see you next week.
Bye, guys.
The Beet Deets Bonus Segment
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In this week's bonus episode, Emily and Hannah discuss what their dream mukbang would be. Hannah shares a very poor experience she had with a Southern fast food chain, Emily discusses Swedish candy, and they agree upon a restaurant to record a mukbang for youtube. Tune in for lots of fun & if you want to be hungry!
