It’s easy to imagine how watching a likable person eat lots of delicious food and somehow stay remarkably thin would inspire folks to have their own feasts of shellfish, pizza and fried chicken, but doctors caution against it. According to gastroenterologist Dr. Samantha Nazareth M.D., in the U.S., where obesity is already a leading health concern, maybe videos of people eating inordinate amounts of food has a bad influence on viewers. After all, we all remember the tide-pod challenge (per a report posted on YouTube). Teens willingly ate those, and there is no way laundry detergent even tastes good. Dr. Nazareth told Men’s Health, “In a country with increasing amounts of obesity, this is not the correct message to send nor is this something to try at home,” she says.

The more obvious dangers though, may be to the mukbangers themselves. Many mukbangers say that the way they are able to eat so much yet stay thin is that when they’re not mukbanging, they eat painstakingly light and healthy. 

Dr. Andrew Bates M.D., an assistant professor of surgery in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, told Men’s Health that the methodology may not be sound. “It’s quite a roller coaster to put your body on,” he said. “Your body won’t know whether you’re in feast or famine mode.”  

Yet, the long term effects are yet to be determined. According to Dr. Bates, “We don’t have the benefit of watching them for years and seeing what happens.”