In January 29, there was a Japanese girl who posted a video on her Youtube channel, featuring 10 pieces of Double Cheeseburger, 10 pieces of Teriyaki Burger and 10 pieces of Strawberry Choco pie. And yes, in a span of a 7-minute-and-20-minuter video, she finished them all.
She is none other than Yuka Kinoshita, a mukbang or an oogui eater.
How many could you eat in one sitting?
What is mukbang?
Mukbang or meokbang originates from the Korean words, meokneum, which means eating, and “bangsong” which means broadcast. This word doesn’t have any record when it was actually created. Mukbang videos are usually videos of people eating large quantity of food while talking to their viewers.
On the other hand, oogui is the Japanese term for gluttony. Negative as it may seem, eaters like Kinoshita have fully consumed the word to be part of themselves.
Gruesome hunger caught on video
On May 28, 2014, Kinoshita came across a taiyaki or the Japanese fish-shaped cake, took it home, and decided to record a video while eating the sweet croissant. Since she was just starting, she just used her smartphone.
The taiyaki which started it all.
Just like other mukbang videos, Yuka’s usually start with preparing the food which she’s about to eat. Her videos also uses cute sound effects and text overlays, which create a more kawaii-ness effect.
Moreover, the food that she’s always preparing contains around 5,000 to 23,000 calorie in each video. Until, she effortlessly eats all of them in one seating.
Yuka’s recipes on her Youtube channel.
Steadily, she gained following on her Youtube channel and eventually provoked her viewers to challenge her to eat more than she used to.
Yuka won’t turn down any food challenge
There are already restaurants who challenged the oogui eaters in Japan.
On November 12, 2016, a noodle restaurant in Shin-Sakae imposed a gigantic 4-kilogram miso udon to Kinoshita and another Japanese oogui eater, Moe Azu. The bowl contained 8 ladles of miso soup, 4 fishcakes, 4 pieces of fried tofu and 8 bundles of handmade noodles.
After 43 minutes, the two kawaii girls were able to consume that not so kawaii amount of food.
Another restaurant in Gifu prefecture, offered a monster ramen of 20 kilograms to these 2 girls and another one named Angela. This enormous bowl contains 20 bundles of extra thick ramen noodles, 5 kilograms of bean sprout, and 3 kilograms of pork.
The monster udon, kaisendon and ramen.
But after an hour and 15 minutes, Azu and Kinoshita already gave up. Angela went on for a few more minutes but apparently surrendered when the total amount of food eaten by the group reached 15 kilograms.
Given the huge amount of food, where do these slim Japanese girls store the food that enters in their bodies? Do they have extra stomachs?
The expanding stomach
Though Yuka’s career as a professional competitive eater was a total success, she is still exploring the limits of her own stomach.
There was a study conducted aiming to know what happens to the stomach of competitive eaters. The University of Pennsylvania conducted an experiment on this for a National Geographic special. Participants composed of two men, a 6-footer and a 5’ 10” footer.
The participants in the study were a 6 footer guy, who just finished 7 hotdogs without buns, and a 5’10 footer guy, who was still asking for more after eating 36 hotdogs in just 10 minutes.
They tasked the men to consume as many hotdogs as they could in just 12 minutes. But even before the time ended, the 5’10” footer guy had already eaten 36 hotdogs in 10 minutes, and even asking for more, while the other was just able to eat 7.
According to a study made by the University of Pennsylvania for a National Geographic special, they found out in the experiment that competitive eaters’ stomachs swell to hold massive content.
There is also this satiety reflex, wherein a nerve in the stomach is sending signals to the brain to stop eating. According to the man who ate 36 hotdogs, he had trained himself to eat more through the years. This was how he was able to extend and overcome his satiety reflex, to have the capability to put more food in their stomachs.
Also, according to medical experts, there could be an abnormal abundance of bifidobacteria, which has the ability to metabolize fat, and can prevent them from getting sick or even gaining weight.
Being an oogui eater both takes practice and passion for food. If you are not yet accustomed to it, do not force yourself for it may lead to nausea and vomiting.
Though we all love to eat, being a stomach lover can be the best way to be.
Gochisosamadeshita!
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