Mukbang videos – ‘normalise overeating’, say worried experts, as one influencer, who used to be a pescatarian dancer, sparks concern after posting 26 clips in one week

Fans have raised concerns about a young influencer who is eating large amounts of junk food online to gain views, part of the social media trend ‘mukbang’.

Jenna, known as Jellybean.sweets on her TikTok account, has become popular online for filming herself eating large meals.

The 20-year-old, who is believed to be from Louisville, Kentucky, used to post videos of herself dancing to her favorite songs, but these days she’s more often seen in front of the camera devouring donuts, burgers, pizza and fried chicken strips.

Last July, Jenna posted a video of herself tasting chicken after being a pescatarian for several years.

She bought food from the fast food chain Wingstop, including Voodoo fries, cheesy fries, 10 chicken wings, a cup of Dr Pepper and two jars of ranch sauce.

So I ordered quite a bit [because] “I ordered through UberEats and got $20 off my first order, so it was a great value to get the things I wanted today,” she said.

At the first bite, Jenna is shocked and visibly impressed by the junk food. She says, “Mmm, that’s good.”

Before she uploaded the video, it typically received less than a million views, but this particular clip amassed a whopping 5.8 million views.

A comment was posted to the band last month saying, “This is where the story began.”

After this burst of fame on social media, she is now messages only contents of her food at various fast food chains such as Raising Cane’s Chic-fil-A, Chipotle and Taco Bell.

Nowadays, Jenna’s videos regularly go viral, but fans fear that this is taking a toll on her health, as they claim that she has gained weight from making ‘mukbang’ videos.

The trend of making food videos – known as mukbangs – originated in South Korea and was initially aimed primarily at people who wanted to eat with the content creators.

The trend has become more extreme, however, with mukbangers eating increasingly large quantities of often unhealthy food. Doctors warn that even more people could die.

According to TikTok users, Jenna has posted more than 20 videos in just one week where she feasts on fatty and highly processed foods.

Jenna bought six Krispy Kreme Donutswhich comes to about 2,400 calories, and ate the entire box, plus an energy drink.

One concerned fan said: ‘I just counted 27 mukbangs in a week,’ while another wrote: ‘Hey!! So 26 mukbangs in a week is insane.’

A third wrote: ‘No amount of money can make me do this lol,’ while a fourth commented: ‘The fact that she made this the same day as the Taco Bell version where she ate two burritos at once is crazy.’

Ollie Matthews, who has a degree in Applied Sports Nutrition and founded Ojay Health, told FEMAIL: ‘In themselves these mukbangs may not be that dangerous, but consuming such large amounts of calories with little nutritional value in the long term can be very dangerous.

‘It can lead to nutrient deficiencies, poor glucose metabolism and potentially problems like insulin resistance and possibly type 2 diabetes. It can also lead to high cholesterol levels, which can lead to further health problems in the long term.’

When asked if posting mukbangs online could encourage imitative behavior, Ollie replied, “I think so. It normalizes nutrient-poor diets and obesity, which will cause health problems down the road.

‘There’s definitely going to be pressure, she’s got a positive feedback loop where people are cheering you on. I have no doubt that this can be addictive, especially as it goes on and dopamine issues become more and more apparent with reduced gut function.’

Ollie added that eating these types of foods can also lead to mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression.

Nishtha Patel, a clinical nutritionist who founded The Gut Expert, endorsed the sandwich, saying, “The more views, likes, and comments she gets, the more she’ll likely be encouraged to keep going or, worse, she might be challenged to eat even more.”

“The fact that they’re going viral shows that people are clearly interested in this kind of content. It’s a concern that others are copying them to get hits and publicity because they’re so popular.”

Nishtha said she burned calories by posting clips of her dancing and that it “benefited her heart, lungs, blood sugar and mental health.”

She added: ‘A diet of ultra-processed fast foods provides little nutritional benefit and is high in saturated fat and calories, plus sugar.

“All of this is going to cause weight gain and all of the diseases that come with being overweight or obese. It can also cause IBS or worse IBD.”

Jenna says she quit her part-time job because she makes more money eating fast food online than working.

She said she often gets paid around 10p per 1,000 views on her videos, meaning a viral clip can instantly earn her hundreds of pounds.

Jenna responded to critical comments, saying, “Everyone in the comments likes to come at me and say I eat so much fast food, which I mean, I get a lot of fast food. But half of what I get actually goes to my dad.

“We have a nickname for my dad in this family, he’s the human trash can. He eats all the leftovers and expired stuff in the fridge.

“Everyone says, ‘You get so much more at Wingstop.’ I actually get two meals now because my dad eats a lot of it, he loves it.”

In another video of Jenna eating a slow-grilled cheese burrito from Taco Bell, one viewer said, “I feel like I’m re-watching the Nikocado Avocado story.”

Nicholas Perry, known online as Nikocado Avocado, has been making videos of himself eating avocado on YouTube since 2016.

In July 2021, the Sun reported that a video posted by Internet Analsyt showed Nikocado saying, “When I started Mukbanger. I was 150 pounds, maybe 160, I can’t really remember.

“Well, I’m 339, I’m almost 340. I’ve more than doubled in weight. When I got to 300, I could say I’d doubled in weight.”

But Jenna’s followers have also pointed out how much her appearance has changed over the past year due to the unhealthy content she creates.

One fan wrote: ‘You’ve gained astronomical amounts of weight. And all because you wanted to quit veganism. I think you need to tone down the mukbangs.’

Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a specialist registered dietitian and author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed: Your 4-week plan for life-changing healthy eating habits, raised concerns about this type of content.

She said: ‘Mukbang videos, where people eat large amounts of food while interacting with an audience, can be quite dangerous, especially if the focus is on eating so-called junk food.

‘These videos can normalize overeating and unhealthy eating habits, making it seem like consuming excessive amounts of food is both normal and enjoyable.

‘This can be harmful because regularly eating such large amounts, especially of less nutritious foods, can lead to serious health problems such as obesity, heart disease and digestive problems.’

Last month, the dangers of extreme eating returned to the headlines after a tragic news report emerged about a 24-year-old who died during a livestreamed 10-hour binge.

Chinese content creator Pan Xiaoting died of a suspected stomach rupture after eating approximately 55 kilograms of food.

According to the autopsy results, her stomach was severely deformed and full of undigested food. This suggests that her stomach may have burst, causing stomach acid and food to leak into her abdomen.

Xiaoting became famous in China for her livestreams, in which she ate huge amounts of fish and chocolate cake on camera, among other things.

It is said that she was once hospitalized after suffering from stomach bleeding from overeating.

But she probably started eating again just one day after she was discharged from the hospital.