Associations between mukbang viewing and disordered eating behaviors

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Media Studies
• Public Health

Background:

• Mukbang, a digital media phenomenon, involves hosts consuming large quantities of food for audience entertainment.
• The increasing prevalence of online content necessitates an examination of its potential impact on mental health, particularly eating disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between specific mukbang viewing characteristics and the presence of eating disorder symptoms.
• To understand how factors like viewing frequency, duration, and engagement while watching mukbang relate to disordered eating pathology.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Eating Disorders Examination-Questionnaire to assess eating disorder symptoms.
• Assessed mukbang viewing habits, including frequency, watch time, concurrent eating, and problematic viewing via the Mukbang Addiction Scale.
• Employed multivariable regression analyses on data from 264 adults recruited via social media, controlling for demographic and health factors.

Main Results:

• A significant portion of participants (34%) watched mukbang daily; average watch time was nearly 30 minutes.
• Problematic mukbang viewing and eating while watching were associated with binge eating and purging symptoms.
• Body dissatisfaction correlated with more frequent mukbang viewing and eating during viewing, but paradoxically, lower scores on the Mukbang Addiction Scale.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest a link between mukbang consumption patterns and disordered eating symptoms, which may inform clinical practice.
• Further research is required to establish the causal directionality of the relationship between mukbang viewing behaviors and eating disorder pathology.