What mukbang videos actually do to your appetite and cravings, according to research

Introduction

Open TikTok or YouTube and you’re never far from someone eating on camera. Mukbang — the Korean-born genre of eating videos, often oversized portions eaten loudly and enthusiastically for an audience — has gone from niche livestream trend to mainstream entertainment. TikTok’s #mukbang hashtag had passed four million videos by mid-2024, and the biggest mukbang YouTubers now count their subscribers in the tens of millions. So what does watching all this eating actually do to your own appetite and cravings? It’s a fair question, because the honest answer is more interesting — and more human — than “it makes you hungry.” Research suggests the mukbang effect on appetite is real but specific: it’s less about triggering hunger and more about reshaping when and why you reach for food, while the bigger draw for most viewers turns out to be company, not cravings.

What mukbang is, and how big it’s become

Mukbang (a blend of the Korean words for “eating” and “broadcast”) started as live eating streams in South Korea in the early 2010s, where hosts ate large quantities of food while chatting with viewers in real time. It has since become a global YouTube and TikTok staple, ranging from ASMR-style close-up crunching to competitive-eating challenges to calmer “eating with me” videos meant to feel companionable rather than extreme.

The scale is genuinely large. Feedspot’s 2026 ranking of mukbang YouTubers puts Zach Choi ASMR at over 33 million subscribers, with other creators like Stephanie Soo in the multi-million range too. On TikTok, the #mukbang tag had racked up more than four million videos by August 2024, according to CNN’s reporting, and that figure has only grown since. A 2025 study of Egyptian nursing students found 68.5% of the 746 people surveyed regularly watched food-related videos, spending an average of around 13.6 minutes a day doing so — a useful reminder that this isn’t a fringe habit confined to committed foodies, but something a majority of young adults now do routinely.

What the research says happens to your appetite and cravings

In short: watching mukbang doesn’t reliably make you hungrier, but it is linked to eating that’s driven by cues on screen rather than by actual hunger, and to a stronger pull toward pleasurable, high-reward foods.

That same 2025 nursing-student study found a positive correlation between how much people watched and their score for “hedonic hunger” — the drive to eat for pleasure and reward rather than physical need, regardless of how full you already are. Researchers describe this alongside a pattern called external eating: eating in response to seeing or smelling food, rather than to internal hunger signals. A 2025 scoping review in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, pulling together the available evidence on mukbang and health, similarly points to viewers showing more externally-triggered eating patterns and, among frequent viewers, more concern about their own body image.

It isn’t only about individual appetite in the moment. A large 2024 study using South Korea’s national Youth Risk Behaviour Survey, covering over 50,000 adolescents, found that teenagers who watched eating-show content frequently (five or more times a week) were more likely to eat fast food, drink sugar-sweetened and highly caffeinated drinks, skip breakfast, and eat at night. None of this proves mukbang alone causes worse eating habits — people who already snack more may also watch more — but the association held up even after researchers accounted for other factors, which is why nutrition researchers are paying attention to it.

Why people actually watch it — and it’s rarely about the food

If mukbang mostly nudged people toward hunger, you’d expect viewers to describe watching it as appetite-driven. They mostly don’t. Across several 2024–2025 studies, the most consistently cited reason for watching is loneliness — using a video of someone eating and talking as a stand-in for company at mealtimes, particularly for people who eat alone often. A 2024 study of Malaysian university students found loneliness was the single strongest predictor of “obsessive” mukbang-ASMR viewing, ahead of novelty or curiosity.

The other major draw is vicarious eating: watching someone else enjoy a food you’re craving, restricting, or simply don’t want the calories or cost of yourself, and getting some of the sensory satisfaction from watching rather than eating it. Combined with ASMR-style sound — crunching, slurping, sizzling — many viewers describe the experience as soothing rather than appetite-stimulating, closer to background comfort content than to advertising. This is worth holding onto: for most people, mukbang is a coping tool for loneliness or stress, not a sign that something is wrong with their relationship with food. That said, a 2025 South Korean study of over 1,200 adults did find that people watching mukbang three or more times a week had meaningfully higher odds of reporting depressive symptoms than non-viewers — an association the researchers suggest may reflect people turning to mukbang when they’re already struggling, rather than mukbang causing the low mood.

What mukbang won’t teach you: what “normal” eating looks like

Whatever else it offers, mukbang was never designed to model everyday eating, and it’s worth being clear-eyed about that. The portions featured in most videos are far larger than a typical meal, eaten faster and with more enthusiasm than most people eat in real life, precisely because that performance is what makes the content watchable. Speaking to CNN in 2024, registered dietitians warned that mukbang videos don’t reflect a normal or balanced way of eating, and that heavier viewers risk picking up cues to overeat, avoid whole food groups, or miss out on the variety of nutrients a normal diet needs.

That doesn’t mean watching mukbang is harmful for everyone who enjoys it occasionally — most viewers watch, feel entertained or soothed, and go about their day unaffected. But if you notice you’re watching mukbang specifically to manage cravings, to feel less alone at mealtimes most days, or that it’s shifting how much or how late you eat, that’s worth paying attention to rather than ignoring. If eating itself starts to feel distressing or tightly bound up with anxiety, that’s a conversation worth having with a GP or a service like Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, rather than something to manage alone.

The takeaway

Mukbang’s popularity isn’t a mystery once you look past the food: it offers company, novelty and a low-effort way to unwind, and for most viewers that’s exactly what it delivers. The research so far suggests the mukbang effect on appetite is real but narrower than the genre’s scale might suggest — it’s associated with more externally-cued, pleasure-driven eating and, in some groups, with poorer diet quality, rather than with hunger itself increasing. The studies behind these findings are mostly correlational, drawn from specific populations like Korean adults or university students, so they show patterns worth taking seriously rather than proof that mukbang causes any particular outcome for you individually. If you enjoy it, there’s no need to feel guilty about it — just don’t mistake it for a picture of what a normal meal looks like.

This article is for general information and isn’t a substitute for individualised medical or dietetic advice. If you’re concerned about your eating habits, speak to your GP or a registered dietitian.

FAQs

Does watching mukbang make you hungry?

Not reliably. Research links frequent mukbang viewing to “external eating” — eating triggered by what you see on screen rather than by hunger — and to higher “hedonic hunger” (wanting food for pleasure, not need), rather than to a general increase in physical hunger.

Can mukbang videos trigger cravings?

Yes, for many viewers watching mukbang can trigger cravings for the specific foods shown, especially calorie-dense or “trigger” foods, through vicarious eating — getting some sensory satisfaction from watching someone else eat rather than eating yourself.

Why do people watch mukbang if they’re not hungry?

Studies consistently find loneliness is the top reason: mukbang can simulate the company of eating with someone else. ASMR-style sounds, curiosity, and stress relief are also commonly cited motivations.

Is mukbang linked to eating disorders?

Research has found associations between frequent mukbang viewing and disordered eating patterns and body dissatisfaction in some studies, but this doesn’t mean watching causes an eating disorder. If eating feels distressing or hard to control, it’s worth speaking to a GP or a charity like Beat.

Is mukbang bad for you?

Occasional viewing appears harmless for most people and can even be a soothing way to unwind. Heavier, frequent viewing has been associated with poorer diet quality in some studies, so it’s more about how much and why you’re watching than mukbang itself being inherently harmful.

Does mukbang affect teenagers differently?

A large 2024 South Korean study of over 50,000 adolescents found frequent eating-show viewing was linked to more fast food, sugary and caffeinated drinks, and skipped meals, suggesting teenagers may be a group worth watching more closely.

What is “hedonic hunger”?

Hedonic hunger is the desire to eat for pleasure and reward rather than because your body needs energy. It’s distinct from physical hunger and has been linked to frequent mukbang viewing in at least one 2025 study of university students.

Does mukbang cause depression?

No — a 2025 South Korean study found people who watched mukbang three or more times a week had higher odds of depressive symptoms, but this is an association, not proof mukbang causes depression. It may instead reflect people turning to mukbang when they’re already feeling low or isolated.

How popular is mukbang really?

Very. TikTok’s #mukbang hashtag had passed four million videos by August 2024, and top mukbang YouTubers have tens of millions of subscribers between them, according to Feedspot’s 2026 creator rankings.

Should I stop watching mukbang if I want to eat more mindfully?

Not necessarily — occasional viewing isn’t shown to be harmful for most people. But if you notice it’s shaping when, how much, or how late you eat, it may help to notice the pattern and, if needed, watch less often or choose calmer content.