Featured Image Credit: Pan Xiaoting/Getty Stock Photo
Topics: China, Science, Health, Food and Drink, Mental Health
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: China, Science, Health, Food and Drink, Mental Health
Warning: This article contains descriptions of disordered eating which some readers may find distressing
A doctor has spoken out following the death of a popular streamer in China, who died as a result of overeating while on camera.
On 14 July, streamer Pan Xiaoting passed away while on a livestream with her followers.
The 24-year-old took part in a genre of streaming video called mukbang - where creators post videos of themselves eating, often in excessive amounts or consuming unhealthy food - and is previously reported as having eaten food for more than 10 hours every day without a break, alongside another challenge of eating over 10kg of food in a meal.
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Mukbang videos were banned in China in 2020 to prevent food waste and reduce overeating, however, in Xiaoting's final broadcast on her channel in which she passed away, it's believed overeating led to her passing.
An autopsy showed her stomach was filled with undigested food and her abdomen was severely deformed, the Maeil Business Newspaper reports.
And a doctor has since spoken out about what happens to your body if you eat 10kg of food in a 10-hour period.
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In an interview with the Daily Star, Dr Gareth Nye, a senior lecturer at Chester Medical school in the UK, explained: "The quicker you eat the more you can get in before the signals are clear but the average person will still reach a feeling of fullness."
However, 'competitive eaters or extreme eaters do not have this normal pathway'.
So, if someone continues to eat a large quantity of food over a short period of time, Dr Nye explains the body 'will physically stretch to accommodate the food but the release from the stomach to the intestines is heavily controlled'.
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"There are only so many calories the body can take in so much of the food will go through the intestinal transit undigested," he added.
And undigested food can lead to some nasty symptoms.
Dr Nye revealed undigested food can lead to 'way too much glucose' in the body which 'causes a stress response' known as 'dumping syndrome'.
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This can lead to the person suffering from 'heavy sweating, rapid heartbeat, nausea and diarrhoea'.
Dr Nye likens people's watching of such over-eating videos as eliciting a similar 'morbid fascination or disgust' to videos of 'pimple popping' for example.
He resolved: "In my opinion it is glamorising unhealthy eating practices to a wide audience, particularly children which I worry will lead to issues within the wider population as our children grow and develop."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone, contact National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD). You can reach them on their free hotline at 1(888)-375-7767, which is open Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm CST.