Efecan Kultur, a Turkish Tiktoker who rose to prominence for his “mukbang” binge eating streams, tragically lost his life at the age of 24 due to obesity-related health complications.

The “mukbang” trend, in which people costume copious amounts of food on camera to the delight of their fans, originated in South Korea but quickly spread all over the world raising concerns about obesity and mindless food waste. With more than 156,000 TikTok followers and 12,000 Instagram followers, 24-year-old Efecan Kultur was one of Turkey’s most popular mukbang streamers, but his popularity came at a cost. As he continued ballooning in size, he started experiencing various health problems, including heart disease, and in October of last year, he announced that he would be going on a diet and avoiding extra salt to try and lose weight. Sadly, earlier this month, the 24-year-old died as a result of his obesity.

Turkish media reported that Mr. Kultur had been struggling with obesity for a while, but was compelled to continue his mukbang career by his massive social media success. His binge-eating videos had millions of views on TikTok alone, and thousands of people tuned in to see him gorge on excessive amounts of food. Unfortunately, his unhealthy eating habits caused his health to deteriorate at an age when most people are at their healthiest.

The 24-year-old mukbang star started experiencing breathing problems, was diagnosed with heart disease, and could barely get out of bed. His last YouTube post came eight months ago, and his last mukbang video dates back to October of last year, when he told his fans he planned to go on a diet and avoid salt as much as possible.

In January of this year, Efecan Kultur started posting from the hospital where he was being treated for his obesity-related health problems, but on March 7, after three months of hospitalization, he was pronounced dead. His tragic demise is once again drawing attention to mukbang and the threat it poses to those who engage in it for fame and money.