A Study on Potential Health Issues Behind the Popularity of “Mukbang” in China

Abstract

Mukbang, in which people broadcast themselves eating large quantities, started to enter the Chinese market around 2014 and gradually became popular. In this thesis, by analyzing the encodings of mukbang videos on Kuaishou, the shared themes across videos were discovered. Also, the decodings of mukbang videos by viewers were examined so as to figure out their different attitudes and emotions toward mukbang videos and mukbangers. Findings suggested that mukbang videos and its viewers have built up a complex relationship. Pursuing the thrill of hunger, vicarious eating, emotional establishment, and relieving anorexia were found as main reasons the viewers choose to watch mukbang videos. However, some viewers also expressed their shock, even disbelief on unusual food intake. Others expressed their desires on owning a slim figure that never becoming overweight even overeating. This thesis also argued that mukbang has indeed caused a certain harmful impact on the perception of eating norms and eating behaviors of some viewers.