JAPAN ‘BIG STOMACH’ COMPETITIVE EATER, WHO ATE 100 BURGERS AT ONE SITTING, RETIRES AT 40
'Cute and slim' Japanese eating phenomenon who recently took time out to recover from 'mental illness' set to quit, spend life with pet cats
A world famous eating influencer from Japan has said she is set to quit competitive eating for health and age reasons.
The announcement by Yuka Kinoshita was released online on February 1, just months after she made a comeback on social media following a seven-month hiatus.
She had spent that time confined at home suffering from bipolar affective disorder.
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"I will turn 40 on February 4 and it is really hard for me to continue working as a big eater," Kinoshita said on a major social media platform where she has 5.2 million followers.
"I am very exhausted. My health has deteriorated over the years. It is no problem to eat like a normal person, but I will feel tired even when I am not full. So I am afraid I cannot eat as much as before," she added.
Her career as a "big stomach king" began in 2009 on the Japanese reality show The Battle of Big Eaters, which she did not win but attracted attention for the contrast between her massive consumption of food and her slim stature and cute smile.
Kinoshita began her own online channel in 2014, sharing her binge-eating exploits on video.
Her achievements included scoffing 600 fried chickens, or 100 burgers, or 5kg of steak, or 5kg of ramen in one sitting.
In one video, she stuffed herself with bibimbap, a Korean rice dish, mixed with 50 eggs in addition to 6kg of Miso soup.
Kinoshita is 158cm tall and remained at 47kg for a long time although it was estimated that she consumed between 5,000 to 20,000 calories a meal while binge-eating.
She stopped uploading online content at the beginning of last year and reappeared in August, saying she was slowly recovering from the mental illness.
"I am not in the mood for love and I never thought of getting married. With my three cats, I am quite happy and content," said Kinoshita in a recent video.
"For this new year, I hope I can live a long life like a snake," she said.
Her retirement decision sparked a fevered discussion on social media.
"Your health is the most important. Thank you for your previous videos which are healing to me. I was also concerned about your health. Hope you can develop other healthy habits," said one online observer.
While another person said: "When my spirits were low and I did not want to eat anything, I encountered your videos. You made me think food is delicious and so I went out to eat. I feel grateful to you."
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
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2025-02-10T01:23:57Z
