A morbidly obese TikToker known for sharing videos of himself binge-eating has died aged 24 of weight-related health problems. Efecan Kultur, who boasted 155,000 followers on TikTok, was well known in his native Turkey as a ‘mukbang’ streamer.

Mukbang is a type of online broadcast where a content creator will consume varying amounts of food while chatting to the audience. It has become a global trend since the mid-2010s. Efecan, who died on Friday March 7, had been hospitalised since December 2024 due to health problems as a result of being overweight. He could no longer stand up and suffered breathing problems as well as constant bruising due to his size, which triggered mobility issues. Bedridden and unable to breathe without a machine, he was even unable to visit his mother’s grave after she reportedly died one year ago. Efecan was allowed to continue his treatment at home, where he ultimately passed away. His funeral was held at the Celaliye Mosque in the Buyukcekmece Celaliye Neighbourhood, in Istanbul province, before his body was buried in the Silivri Gumusyaka Cemetery.

A morbidly obese Turkish TikToker who would share videos of himself eating has died aged 24 due to weight-related health issues

Undated image of Efecan Kultur

Muckbang is a type of online broadcast where a content creator will consume varying amounts of food while chatting to the audience Efecan is not the first content creator who lost their life at a tragically young age as a result of eating for views.  A binge-eating live-streamer in China died while broadcasting a 10-hour binge to her followers.  Pan Xiaoting died on July 14 from a suspected stomach tear while she gorged on 10kg of food.  Autopsy results revealed that her stomach had become severely deformed and filled with undigested food, suggesting that her stomach could have burst, causing stomach acid and food to leak into her abdomen.

The Mukbang trend has become increasingly extreme, with mukbangers eating larger quantities of often unhealthy food

Efecan died on Friday March 7. He was reportedly no longer able to stand up due to his excessive weight

Efecan Kultur boasted 155,000 followers on TikTok

Efecan had been hospitalised since December 2024 due to health problems as a result of being overweight

His funeral was held at the Celaliye Mosque in the Buyukcekmece Celaliye Neighbourhood, in Istanbul province

Efecan is not the first content creator who lost their life at a tragically young age as a result of eating for views. Xiaoting – who was morbidly obese – became famous in China for her Mukbang live streams. In January 2023, TikTok star Taylor Brice LeJeune (known online as Waffler69), who had some 1.7 million followers on the platform, died from a suspected heart attack.

Taylor, who was just 33-years-old at the time of his death, was known for his quirky food review videos, in which he would consume novelty foods as well as expired groceries, including promotional Addams Family cereal from the 90s.

Large quantities of canned cheeseburgers and a giant Froot Loop were among the foods he consumed online. The Mukbang trend has become increasingly extreme, with mukbangers eating larger quantities of often unhealthy food, prompting doctors to warn that more people may die.  American TikToker Brittany Sauer tragically passed away last year aged 28 from complications due to Type 2 diabetes.  In Sauer’s final videos she said she felt had had ‘ruined her life’ with binge eating.