Mukbang star Ganfan Yingying has died aged 24 after her extreme eating led to fatal health complications.

The popular food influencer, whose real name is Chen Ziyi, passed away on August 17, her parents confirmed to Global Times.

She had gained more than 1.2 million followers across her social media accounts for her 'mukbang' content – videos in which she consumed large quantities of food while interacting with an audience.

Yingying, originally from China, is said to have died from cardiac arrest brought on by dangerously low potassium levels.

In her final post, the content creator revealed that she had been hospitalized due to the stark health complications. 

She revealed that her blood potassium level had fallen as low as 2.3 with a normal range being between 3.5 and 5.5.

Low levels of potassium can affect important functions in the body such as digestive systems and bone health.

Over time, low levels of potassium in your body can cause effects such as abnormal heart rhythms, muscle weakness and even paralysis, according to Cleveland Clinic.

An official cause of death is yet to be released. 

Yingying told her viewers that mukbang influencers face a great deal of pressure and physical exhaustion from creating content.

She poignantly added: 'Although making money is important, health should always come first.' 

Doctors have since explained that binge eating itself does not directly cause severe potassium loss.

Instead, the issues arise if the creator induces vomiting or uses laxatives to eliminate the large quantities of food consumed after the camera stops rolling.

But Yingying is not the only young food influencer to die after extreme eating.

Last year, morbidly obese binge-eating star Efecan Kultur died aged 24 of weight-related health problems.

Kultur, who boasted 155,000 followers on TikTok, was well known in his native Turkey as a 'mukbang' streamer.

The Turkish influencer, who died in March, had been hospitalized 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.

Kultur was bedridden and unable to breathe without a machine before passing away at home.