YouTube tightens binge-eating guidelines as mukbang star Tzuyang vows to 'eat in moderation'

Amid YouTube's push to tighten its guidelines on eating disorders and binge eating, mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang drew attention Monday by saying she would become "a YouTuber who eats in moderation."

Tzuyang made the remark while choosing dishes in a mukbang video filmed at Sinpo International Market in Incheon, posted to her YouTube channel Monday. "Eating a lot is apparently no longer the trend these days," she said. "From now on, I'll be a YouTuber who eats in moderation."

Despite the comment, Tzuyang continued her mukbang in much the same style as before. The remark has drawn notice, however, given the rapidly shifting content regulation environment on YouTube.

The platform has been strictly enforcing its eating disorder and binge-eating guidelines, leading to the demonetization of some mukbang creators' channels and the removal of hundreds of videos — sending ripples through the industry.

YouTuber "Salbbaejo," who has about 440,000 subscribers, recently had monetization on their channel suspended after YouTube tightened its eating disorder guidelines. The creator also announced a temporary halt to video uploads to prevent further sanctions.

Diet YouTuber "Miso," who has about 100,000 subscribers, received a guideline violation notice and decided to delete 339 of the 667 videos on the channel — more than half — while filing an appeal.

YouTube has revised its eating disorder guidelines, restricting ad revenue on content depicting eating behaviors — such as binge eating, extreme food hoarding, severe calorie restriction and repeated cycles of weight loss — that viewers, particularly minors, might be at risk of imitating.

The platform is also understood to apply the overall context and potential impact on viewers as key regulatory criteria, looking not only at a creator's intent but also at video descriptions, titles, thumbnails and tags.