The mukbang trend, where people film themselves eating impressive amounts of food for the entertainment of their viewers, is one of the most controversial cultural phenomena of the 21st century. Apart from promoting food waste purely for entertainment purposes, it also puts people’s lives at risk and has been known to be the cause of death for some mukbang vloggers. So why would any parent want to subject their 3-year-old child to something this dangerous?

Earlier this month, Chinese news sources reported the shocking case of a 3-year-old girl nicknamed “Peiqi” who had ballooned to 35 kilograms (77 pounds) after her parents turned her into a mukbang star, filming her eating unhealthy foods and posting the clips on social media.

Peiqi’s parents used phrases like “3-year-old 66-pound (33-kilogram) chubby girl” and “amazing appetite” in the titles of videos they uploaded on platforms like Duoyin (China’s version of TikTok). They showed Peiqi consuming high-calorie foods such as fried chicken and fatty meat purely for the enjoyment of her followers.

As the 3-year-old girl’s weight increased to 35 kilograms, far exceeding the normal range of about 15 kilograms for children her age, outraged people started confronting her parents and asking them to stop doing mukbang videos. However, the couple defended their actions, claiming that Peiqi had weighed 4.5 pounds (about 2.25 kilograms) at birth, and just had a healthy appetite. They denied forcing her to eat, and claimed that the money they made from her videos was barely enough to cover the cost of the food.

As pressure from the general public increased, the video platforms banned Peiqi’s accounts, and her parents deleted their social media accounts as well.

Peiqi’s shocking case has brought attention to the controversial practice of using minors to attract attention and get views on Chinese social media. From mukbang and prank videos featuring kids to using them to sell various products, the presence of minors on social media has increased in recent years, with serious consequences for many of them.