Fans have raised concerns over a young influencer who eats copious amounts of junk food online to gain views – as part of the social media trend known as ‘mukbang’.
Jenna, known as Jellybean.sweets on her TikTok account, has gained popularity online by filming herself eating extensive meals.
The 20-year-old, thought to be from Louisville, Kentucky, used to post videos of her dancing to her favourite songs, but now she’s more likely to be seen sitting in front of the camera devouring doughnuts, burgers, pizzas and fried chicken tenders.
Last July, Jenna posted a clip of her trying chicken after being a pescatarian for a number of years.
She bought food from high street fast food chain Wingstop, including Voodoo fries, cheesy fries, 10 chicken wings, a cup of Dr Pepper and two pots of ranch sauce.
Jenna, known as Jellybean.sweets on her TikTok account, has gained popularity online by showing other people her extensive meals.
‘So I ordered quite a bit [because] I ordered with UberEats and got $20 off my first order, so it was really inexpensive to get the things I wanted today,’ she said.
Upon the first bite, a shocked Jenna is visibly impressed by the junk food and says ‘Mmm, that’s good.’
Before uploading the video, she would usually receive under one million views, but that particular clip racked up a whopping 5.8million clicks.
A comment from last month was posted on the tape which said: ‘Here is where the saga started’.
After this burst of social media fame, she now solely posts content of her tucking into various fast food chains such as Raising Cane’s Chic-fil-A, Chipotle and Taco Bell.
Now, Jenna’s videos regularly go viral but fans worry that it is at the expense of her health, as they claimed she has gained weight after going down the path of making ‘mukbang’ videos.
The trend of creating eating videos – known as mukbangs – originated in South Korea, and at first, mainly appealed to people who would eat alongside the content creators.
However, the trend has become increasingly extreme, with mukbangers eating larger quantities of often unhealthy food, prompting doctors to warn that more people may die.
Jenna is pictured in early 2023 before regularly eating fast food dancing in her room
Jenna is pictured eating Taco Bell as she speaks to her camera and engages with her followers
Viewers expressed concerns when Jenna uploaded many mukbang videos all in one week
TikTok users counted that Jenna posted more than 20 videos of her indulging in fatty, highly-processed food in just one week.
Jenna bought six Krispy Kreme doughnuts, which would be around 2,400 calories, and ate the whole box, along with consuming an energy drink.
One concerned fan said: ‘I just counted 27 mukbangs in a week,’ while another wrote: ‘Hey!! So 26 mukbangs in a week is genuinely insane.’
A third penned: ‘No amount of money can make me do this lol,’ while a fourth commented: ‘The fact she made this the same day she made the Taco Bell one where she was eating 2 burritos at the same time is wild.’
Ollie Matthews, who holds a degree in Applied Sports Nutrition and founded Ojay Health, told FEMAIL: ‘Individually, these mukbangs may not be overly dangerous but consuming such high amounts of calories with a low nutrient density longer term could be very dangerous.
‘It could cause nutrient deficiencies, poor glucose management leading to issues such as insulin resistance and potentially type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol which could lead to further health problems the longer it continues.’
When asked whether posting mukbangs online may encourage copycat behaviour, Ollie said: ‘I believe so, it normalises low nutrient diets and obesity which will cause health problems down the line.
Jenna has been compared to when Nicholas Perry, known as Nikocado Avocado online, started eating food online in 2016
Nikocado Avocado has filmed himself eating thousands of calories of fast food in popular ‘mukbang’ videos
‘There will no doubt be pressure, she has a positive feedback loop in place where people are cheering you on. I have no doubt that this could be addictive, especially the longer it goes on and dopamine issues become more and more apparent with lowered gut function. ‘
Ollie added that consuming these foods can also lead to mental health struggles, such as anxiety and depression.
Nishtha Patel, a clinical nutritionist who founded the Gut Expert, approved of the sandwich agreed and said: ‘The more views, likes and comments she gets is likely to encourage her to continue or worse still, she may get challenged to eat even more
‘The fact that they become viral shows that people are clearly interested in this type of content. It is worrying that others may copy to get the hits and publicity as they are so popular.’
Nishtha said that when she posted clips of her dancing, she was burning calories and ‘helping her heart, lungs, blood sugars and mental health’.
She added: ‘Eating a diet of ultra processed fast foods will have very little nutritional benefits and it will be high in saturated fats and calories, plus sugar.
‘All of these are going to cause weight gain and all the diseases that come with being overweight or obese. It may also trigger IBS or worse still IBD.’
Jenna said she quit her part-time job because she actually earns more money eating fast food on the internet than working.
She said she often gets around 10 cents per 1,000 views on her videos, meaning a clip that has gone viral could instantly generate hundreds of pounds.
Hitting back at critical comments, Jenna said: ‘Everyone in the comments loves to come for me saying I eat so much fast food, which I mean I have been getting a lot of fast food. But half of what I get actually goes to my dad.
‘We have a nickname for my dad in this family, he’s the human trashcan. He’ll eat all the leftovers and things that are expired in the fridge.
‘Everyone is like “you get so much at Wingstop” I’m really getting two meals because my dad eats lots of it, he loves Wingstop now.’
Jenna’s viewers said they felt as though they were re-watching the story of Nikocado Avocado, another mukbanger
In another video of Jenna eating a slow grilled cheese burrito from Taco Bell, a viewer said: ‘I feel like I’m re-watching the story of Nikocado Avocado.’
Nicholas Perry, known as Nikocado Avocado online, has been making videos of himself eating since 2016 on YouTube.
In July 2021, the Sun reported that a video posted by Internet Analsyt showed Nikocado saying: ‘When I started Mukbanger. I was 150lbs, maybe 160, I can’t really remember.
‘Well I’m 339, I’m almost 340. I’ve more than doubled my weight. When I hit 300, I could have said I’d doubled my weight.’
But Jenna’s followers have also pointed out how much her appearance has changed in the past year due to her unhealthy content creation.
One fan wrote: ‘You’ve gained an astronomical amount of weight. All because you wanted to stop being vegan. I think you should tone down the mukbangs.’
Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a specialist registered dietitian and author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed: Your 4-week plan for life-changing healthier eating habits, expressed her concerns for this type of content.
She said: ‘Mukbang videos, where people eat large quantities of food while engaging with an audience, can be quite dangerous, especially when the focus is on consuming so called junk food.
‘These videos have the potential to normalise overeating and unhealthy eating habits, making it seem like consuming excessive amounts of food is both normal and entertaining.
‘This can be harmful, as regularly eating such large quantities, especially of less nutritious foods, can lead to serious health issues like obesity, heart disease, and digestive problems.’
Last month, the dangers of extreme eating once hit the headlines following the tragic news that a 24-year-old died while live-streaming a 10-hour food binge.
Chinese content creator Pan Xiaoting died from a suspected stomach tear, after consuming some 122lb (1.5 stone) of food.
Her stomach had become severely deformed and filled with undigested food, according to autopsy results, suggesting that her stomach could have burst, causing stomach acid and food to leak into her abdomen.
Xiaoting was famous in China because of her live streams, during which she would eat massive amounts of seafood and chocolate cake among other items on camera.
It has been reported that she was once hospitalised after suffering gastric bleeding from overeating.
But it is believed she returned to binging on food just one day after being discharged from the hospital.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk