The parents of a three-year-old girl have deleted their social media accounts following widespread backlash after allegedly making their daughter eat huge quantities of unhealthy food for a sick online audience. The child, nicknamed Peiqi by viewers, reportedly gained more than 30 kilograms from participating in so-called 'mukbang' videos, a trend where people eat excessive amounts of food for entertainment.
Child's weight ballooned to 35kg
According to local media in China, Peiqi's weight skyrocketed to 35 kilograms, more than double the healthy weight for a child her age. In one video, she could be seen waving her hands and saying, “Don’t add more food,” while her parents continued to fill the bowl. That video has since been taken down. The parents, who have not been named, used headlines such as "3-year-old 66-pound (33-kilogram) chubby girl" to promote the content, which critics described as exploitative and irresponsible.
Parents defend actions
In their defense, the couple argued that Peiqi weighed 4.5 kilograms at birth and had always had a huge appetite that they were simply satisfying. They claimed that the videos were not solely focused on eating and included her dancing, singing, and dieting. "This is our own child, so there's no way we would force her to eat that much," they said, as quoted by Oddity Central. However, critics online were far from convinced, pointing out the health risks and ethical concerns.
Social media platforms remove content
Due to the wave of user complaints, social media sites quickly removed the videos from their platforms, and the parents have since deleted all their accounts. Despite the videos originally garnering tens of thousands of views and around half a million total watches, the parents denied making the content for financial gain. "We only gained several hundred yuan from uploading such videos. It is far less than the money we spent on her food," they stated.
