Chinese mukbang influencer Chen Ziyi, known online as “Ganfan Yingying”, has died at the age of 24 after suffering a cardiac arrest linked to dangerously low potassium levels.
Chen, who had more than 1 million followers, died on August 17 after a reported history of severe hypokalemia, a condition in which the level of potassium in the blood falls below the normal range. Her death has renewed medical warnings about the risks associated with extreme eating practices, vomiting and laxative use.
Chen had built her online following through mukbang videos, a form of content in which creators film themselves eating large quantities of food. The format has become a major part of online food culture, but the physical demands involved can be significant when creators repeatedly consume unusually large amounts of food for entertainment.
In a video posted three days before her death, Chen reportedly spoke from a hospital bed and explained that she had been unable to post as frequently because she was receiving treatment for low potassium. According to reports citing the Global Times, she said she had previously been hospitalised for the same condition.
Chen also acknowledged that she had deliberately induced vomiting after eating during her videos. She reportedly connected the practice to her declining health and said her blood potassium level had fallen to 2.3 millimoles per litre.
For most adults, blood potassium is generally maintained at around 3.5 to 5.2 millimoles per litre. A level below 3.0 millimoles per litre is considered severe hypokalemia. At sufficiently low levels, the condition can interfere with the normal electrical activity of the heart and, in serious cases, contribute to potentially fatal cardiac complications.
Potassium is an essential electrolyte involved in muscle function, nerve signalling and the electrical activity that allows the heart to beat normally. The National Library of Medicine has documented cardiac complications among the possible consequences of severe hypokalemia.
The loss of potassium can occur through several routes. The Cleveland Clinic notes that excessive loss through the digestive system, including from vomiting, diarrhoea or laxative use, can cause hypokalemia. Repeated vomiting can therefore create a dangerous cycle in which the body loses fluids and electrolytes that it needs to function properly.
Chen’s case has drawn particular attention because she openly discussed the practice shortly before her death. In her final video, she reportedly told viewers that her health problems were at least partly connected to her longstanding habit of vomiting after eating for her online content.
Her warning to followers was notably different from the premise of the videos that had made her popular. Chen reportedly urged her audience to look after their health, saying that making money was important but that health should come first.
Her death also illustrates the risks that can remain hidden behind highly produced social media content. A mukbang video may appear to be a simple food-focused performance to viewers, while the physical consequences of repeatedly eating extreme quantities, followed by compensatory behaviours such as vomiting or laxative use, may not be visible on screen.
Medical concerns surrounding severe hypokalemia are not limited to people involved in mukbang content. The underlying causes can include a range of medical conditions and behaviours, and severe cases require medical attention because of the potential for serious heart rhythm problems.
For Chen’s millions of followers, her final message has become a warning of its own: the demands of producing online content can carry consequences that are not always apparent to an audience. Her death has brought renewed attention to the health risks of extreme eating practices and the importance of recognising dangerously low potassium levels before they become life-threatening.
