<p>Melissa Matthews explores a new viral binge-eating trend that comes with serious side effects.</p>

- Melissa Matthews

Nicholas Perry, 26, is something of a celebrity. He records himself eating 3,000 to 4,000 calories’ worth of food best consumed in moderation—spicy ramen, chilli-cheese fries, Buffalo wings—in a single sitting and then uploads the video to his YouTube account, Nikocado Avocado, which boasts more than a million subscribers.

Perry’s videos are part of a trend dubbed mukbang, in which people eat large quantities of food for an online audience. Mukbang is a mash-up of two Korean words: mukja, or “eating,” and bang-song, meaning “broadcasting.” It originated in South Korea, but it’s gone on to attract international eyeballs and win fans.

“There’s an element of virtual gratification in seeing someone else enjoy the food,” says Makana Chock, a media-psychology expert at Syracuse University. “As humans, we like to watch other people do things.”

There’s something in it for the mukbang stars, too: money. In the U. S., eaters hope to gain an audience and earn a portion of the ad revenue generated by views on YouTube. Some accept donations and make money through corporate-sponsored videos. Over in South Korea, one mukbanger, Park Seo-Yeon, raked in SGD$12,774 a month, according to Reuters.

Being a mukbang star seems like a good gig. After all, getting paid to stuff yourself with processed, fried, and sugary foods you otherwise enjoy in moderation sounds like a dream. But Perry says it all takes a toll on his body. Start with erectile dysfunction. While there’s limi

هذه القصة من طبعة June 2019 من Men's Health Singapore.

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