A famous YouTuber in the Philippines passed away the day after doing a ‘mukbang,’ prompting the Philippine authorities to consider banning mukbang content, according to local media reports on the 8th. Health Minister Theodore Herbosa of the Philippines stated that they are considering banning mukbang content. This decision follows the death of Dondi Esguerra, a well-known mukbang YouTuber with 470,000 Facebook followers who passed away on June 14.
Dondi, who lived in Iligan City in northern Mindanao, posted a mukbang video where he cooked and ate chicken and rice on June 13, the day before his passing. He suffered a heart attack, fell into a coma, and ultimately died. Minister Herbosa criticized mukbang content creators for encouraging people to eat like competitive eaters, stating that overeating is unhealthy and can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, heart diseases, non-communicable diseases, and even cardiac arrest.
He emphasized the need to investigate why Dondi passed away and determine if such activities should be regulated due to health concerns. The Health Department plans to push for a ban on mukbang content on websites and social media platforms if it is found to be linked to Dondi’s death through the investigation. Minister Herbosa likened promoting unhealthy eating habits through mukbang to ‘food porn’ and mentioned the possibility of requesting the Department of Information and Communications Technology to block such sites.