DOH mulls banning mukbangs after food content creator dies of stroke

The Department of Health (DOH) is considering a ban on mukbang videos after a food vlogger died of a stroke.

In an interview with 24 Oras, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said these types of content are a "bad practice" and warned about its health risks.

"I know it's a bad practice because people make content by overeating, and overeating is not healthy. It will lead to obesity, and obesity will lead to hypertension, heart conditions, non-communicable diseases, and even heart attacks," he said.

"I can ban it locally," Herbosa added. "I can propose banning mukbang locally and even ask DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) to ban those sites."

The health secretary went on to note how these kinds of videos could cause eating disorders.

"Kasi para rin siyang food pornography, 'di ba? It's asking, making people eat like gluttons. You can earn income as long as it does not produce health risks. If you're earning from something that is a public health threat, I will have to stop you," he said.

In June, a food vlogger named Dongz Apatan died of a stroke after eating fried chicken. Apatan had over 400,000 followers on Facebook.

Herbosa said that the DOH would look into his death and study if mukbang content will be banned.

Mukbang, popularized in South Korea, is a show or video where hosts consume large amounts of food while interacting with an audience.