Chinese Mukbang Star, 24, Dies Three Days After Telling Fans of Hospitalisation for Severely Low Potassium

Chinese mukbang streamer Chen Ziyi, known online as Yingying, died on 17 August aged 24, three days after telling followers she had been hospitalised with recurrent episodes of low potassium. Her parents announced her death on 4 September but did not disclose a medical cause.

In her final video, posted on 14 August, Yingying said repeated eating had led to potassium loss and hospital treatment. She said her blood potassium had previously fallen as low as 2.3 mmol/L and told followers: 'Although making money is important, health should always come first.'

The death of the million-follower Chinese influencer has drawn attention because Yingying had publicly described a serious health problem that she associated with her mukbang work. The available reporting does not establish that her livestream activity, an individual eating challenge or low potassium caused her death.

Yingying was known for mukbang broadcasts involving large amounts of food. She said she had eaten between 60 and 70 preserved eggs, also called century eggs, in a promotional livestream.

Yingying's Final Video

In the video, Yingying linked recurrent low-potassium episodes to her mukbang work and described a long-term habit of inducing vomiting after broadcasts. These were her own accounts of her health and working practices, not an independently confirmed explanation for her death.

She also said that eating more could improve a livestream's performance, highlighting the pressures she associated with creating content and attracting viewers. Her statement offers insight into her experience of content creation but does not establish that mukbang work caused her death.

Yingying's claim that she had eaten between 60 and 70 preserved eggs during a promotional livestream has been widely repeated in reports about her. The figure comes from her own account and has not been independently verified in the reporting reviewed.

Low Potassium and Death Claim

A person familiar with the case reportedly said Yingying's death was suspected to have involved cardiac arrest linked to prolonged hypokalaemia, the medical term for low potassium. Her family's obituary did not state a cause of death, and no hospital or official authority has publicly confirmed the reported explanation.

Sina Finance reported that medical experts regarded a blood potassium level of 2.3 mmol/L as severe hypokalaemia. Dr Shen Jun, head of emergency surgery at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, told China News Weekly that such a level required particular attention.

Potassium supports the heart's electrical activity, and severe depletion can be associated with irregular heart rhythms and cardiac arrest. That medical context explains why Yingying's reported level drew concern, but it does not establish the cause of her death.

Mukbang Safety Questions Resurface

The case has renewed discussion about health risks linked to extreme mukbang content, where eating challenges can overlap with livestream entertainment and product promotion. Yingying's final warning that health should come before earnings has received particular attention because it was posted only three days before her death.

Her case has also been compared with earlier concerns involving mukbang creators in China, including reporting around the 2024 death of Pan Xiaoting. However, there is no evidence in the reporting reviewed that the circumstances of the two cases were the same.

The confirmed facts are limited: Chen Ziyi, known as Yingying, died aged 24 on 17 August; her parents later announced her death without a cause; and she had recently spoken publicly about hospital treatment for low potassium. Any claim that mukbang, vomiting, a particular eating challenge or hypokalaemia caused her death remains unconfirmed.