Mainland Influencer Dies Suddenly After Eating Continuously for 10 Hours, Expert Discusses Dangers of Eating Broadcasts

A 24-year-old female internet celebrity from mainland China, Pan Xiaoting, passed away in mid-July during a livestream eating show where she attempted to consume 10 kilograms of food over 10 hours. The excessive food intake caused her body to fail, leading to her sudden death during the broadcast, shocking many online viewers. Experts have discussed the dangers of such extreme eating behavior.

“Chibo” originated from South Korea, combining the Korean words for “eat” and “broadcast.” It refers to livestream hosts interacting with viewers while consuming large amounts of food to meet audience demands.

With the spread of this popular culture, internet celebrities from other countries also began creating their own eating show programs, including Pan Xiaoting and famous YouTuber Nicholas Perry, who has over 3.8 million fans on the platform.

Initially a regular waitress, Pan Xiaoting switched to livestreaming after seeing the lucrative profits earned by her classmates and friends through broadcasting, specializing in eating shows.

As her fan base grew, Pan Xiaoting started exploring extreme eating challenges in pursuit of higher popularity. She progressed from eating just a few kilograms of food to over 10 kilograms. However, over time, her health began deteriorating due to the extreme eating practices, leading to hospitalization for gastric bleeding caused by binge eating.

Despite her health issues, Pan Xiaoting did not restrain herself. The day after her discharge from the hospital, she resumed a new round of eating shows, consuming continuously for 10 hours. Ultimately, on July 14th, her body reached its limit, resulting in her demise during the eating show.

The autopsy report revealed severe deformation of Pan Xiaoting’s abdomen, packed with undigested food.

Andrew Harris, a senior lecturer in psychology at Nottingham Trent University, told the Daily Mail that eating show videos center around consumption and indulgence, potentially exacerbating a vicious cycle of binge eating or unhealthy food consumption.

Harris stated, “While some studies suggest that watching eating shows can alleviate feelings of loneliness by providing a sense of social connection or friendship, other research indicates that excessive viewing of these videos may worsen loneliness by replacing deeper real-life social interactions with more superficial virtual interactions.”

Registered dietitian Katie Lopez expressed that eating shows have become a bizarre display of binge eating and self-harm.

She mentioned, “Sadly, this is another example of glorifying self-harm behavior. Specifically, these individuals are at risk for gastric perforation, significant elevation of blood sugar and lipids, acid-base imbalance, electrolyte changes, dehydration, and abnormal heart rhythms.”

Gareth Nye, a senior lecturer at the University of Chester Medical School, stated to the Daily Star that watching people devour unhealthy foods is a concerning trend that could have negative effects on future generations.

Nye pointed out that binge eating comes with various health risks, especially in competitive or extreme eating practices popular worldwide.

He explained, “Extreme eating has specific dangers such as basic ones like nausea and vomiting, as well as morbid obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. There’s also a risk of choking because food enters the windpipe instead of the esophagus. Additionally, there are unique situations like gastric perforation.”

Nye highlighted that extreme eaters can stretch their stomachs more than the average person and are more likely to ignore signals from their brain indicating satiety.

Discussing the physical changes that occur, Nye mentioned that the body expands to accommodate food but strictly controls the release of food from the stomach to the intestines. The body can only absorb so many calories, and most of the food in the intestines remains undigested.

He indicated, “One issue with undigested food is excessive glucose. This leads to a stress response known as dumping syndrome, including profuse sweating, rapid heart rate, nausea, and diarrhea.”

He believed that viewers of eating shows may become engrossed in pathological fascination or disgust, similar to people watching pimple popping videos.

Nye added, “In my view, it is glorifying unhealthy eating habits to a wide audience, especially children. I worry that as our children grow and develop, this will lead to an increase in these issues.”