A 30-Year-Old in Singapore Hospitalized After Eating a 3.2kg Hamburger
"Stomach Swelled to the Shoulders... Emergency Surgery Considered"
Doctors Warn: Competitive Eating Can Lead to Life-Threatening Complications
A man living in Singapore nearly lost his life after eating a 3.2kg hamburger in 30 minutes and being rushed to the emergency room.
On the 6th (local time), the British Daily Mail cited the international academic journal Gastroenterology to report on a 30-year-old Singaporean man, Mr. A, who recently participated in a "hamburger eating contest." Mr. A finished eating a 3.2kg hamburger in just 30 minutes. Eight hours later, his abdomen began to swell, and he was taken to the emergency room complaining of vomiting and abdominal pain.
A man in Singapore was rushed to the emergency room after eating 3.2 kg of hamburgers in 30 minutes. Medical journal Gastroenterology
The released abdominal CT scan of the man clearly showed his stomach filled with food from just above the navel up to near the shoulders. The hospital's abdominal CT scan revealed that Mr. A's stomach and duodenum were massively enlarged due to the ingested food.
Undigested food was pressing on surrounding organs, causing his pancreas to be crushed. Additionally, his total white blood cell count, serum creatinine, and serum amylase levels were severely elevated.
After being admitted, the man underwent gastric lavage through a nasogastric tube to reduce the pressure in his expanded stomach, but his symptoms did not improve. Medical staff considered surgery to remove the undigested food in the stomach, but fortunately, the man began to release gas.
Subsequently, other symptoms such as excessive accumulation of gastric acid and increased white blood cell count were alleviated, and he was finally able to have a bowel movement and was discharged after five days.
The medical team explained, "Swallowing food without chewing causes gastric distension and leads to a large accumulation of solid food residue in the stomach, blocking food from entering the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine)." They added, "If the duodenum is compressed and the condition worsens, it can cause acute pancreatitis or acute kidney injury." They also warned that participants in fast-eating contests face risks such as intestinal rupture, intestinal tissue necrosis, esophageal injury, and pneumonia.
Earlier, on the 5th, a woman in China who habitually overeats underwent emergency surgery after a hole developed in her stomach. Detailed examinations revealed that her stomach had rapidly expanded, with necrosis and perforations found in multiple areas of the stomach wall.
In July last year, a famous Chinese mukbang star died after attempting a challenge to eat more than 10kg of food for over 10 hours daily, and in June, a well-known Filipino YouTuber died of a heart attack the day after posting a mukbang video.
Explosive overeating is dangerous even if it is not chronic. The stomach can expand several dozen times its normal size. When the stomach enlarges excessively due to overeating, it puts pressure on abdominal organs such as the small intestine and the diaphragm. This can make breathing difficult and compress blood vessels in the abdomen such as the inferior vena cava, hindering blood flow and potentially causing necrosis of the small and large intestines.
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