History Main / DeathByGluttony

!!'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

* In the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} game ''VideoGame/{{Mangia}}'', one way to lose the game is to eat so much your stomach explodes. This is quite easy to do, what with your mother relentlessly serving more food to you.

* This was intentionally invoked by 18th-century French SerialKiller [[https://www.trivia-library.com/a/death-by-gluttony-the-murderer-who-dined-men-to-death-part-1.htm Pere Gourier]], aka "Le Diable Gourmand". An extremely wealthy landowner and very BigEater, Gourier's chosen killing method was to befriend his victims, invite them out to fine restaurants and encourage them to indulge as heavily as they liked, insisting on paying the bill himself, then watch them eat themselves to death over the next few months. It was well known what he was doing -- in fact, he openly bragged about it -- but as buying somebody dinner obviously wasn't a crime, there was nothing the authorities could do. However, Gourier eventually [[HoistWithHisOwnPetard overreached himself]] when he chose a man named Ameline, whose constitution was at least as strong as Gourier's own, as his latest victim. Ameline had learned of Gourier's hobby, and secretly fasted and purged between meals. Gourier, increasingly astonished by the man's seeming ability to put food away without dying, and increasingly determined to kill him, made their meals more and more extravagant to the point that he was pushing his own limits, ultimately [[KarmicDeath dropping dead himself]] in the middle of a steak banquet.

* During the Siege of Leningrad in UsefulNotes/WW2, this was a real problem. Many undernourished people (especially children) died ''after'' being rescued because they were allowed to eat too soon after evacuation; the technical term is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refeeding_syndrome refeeding syndrome]].

* In the early Creator/WarnerBros cartoon ''WesternAnimation/{{Pigs Is Pigs|1937}}'', a young pig explodes from voluntary overeating, but it's AllJustADream. When he wakes up, [[AesopAmnesia he goes right back to massive eating.]]

* In ''VideoGame/NetHack'', eating anything, [[TheLastStraw no matter how insubstantial]], when satiated carries the risk of choking to death over your food. JustForPun, polymorphing into a [[MetalMuncher metallivorous]] creature and gorging on too much gold makes the cause of death "eating too rich a meal."

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* The U.S. advertisement for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'', references the "Mr. Creosote" scene in ''Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife'', showing a man in a restaurant eating nonstop until his BalloonBelly starts to pop the buttons on his shirt. He continues to eat until he explodes, spraying the nearby patrons with the food he just ate.
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* In ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'':

* Mr. Luggs from ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion1'' ate himself to death and continues to eat more even as a ghost.

* The way Wart, the final boss of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' is killed by stuffing him with vegetables [[BossArenaIdiocy supplied by the machine in the center of the room]]. The gluttony part is not voluntary since Mario and his friends are force-feeding Wart and it's also stated that Wart hates vegetables.

* Exaggerated in ''WesternAnimation/{{Bratz}}'' where Burdine Maxwell instantly grows so fat that she explodes....by eating a single burger.

* ''Film/ArtOfTheDead'', Murphy, a guard at the gallery, is affected by the Gluttony painting and starts gulping down water straight from a hose until his stomach bursts.

* Mr. Luggs from ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion]]'' ate himself to death and continues to eat more even as a ghost.

* Swedish king Adolf Fredrick died of digestion problems after having consumed a huge meal, consisting of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring, and champagne, topping it off with ''14 servings'' of semlor (a Swedish pastry) for dessert.

-->-- '''Creator/ShelSilverstein''', "Pie Problem"

* In the HD version of ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', the first ghost you fight committed suicide this way.

* Due to comparatively abundant, high-calorie food that is cheap and readily available in most developed nations, health complications from gluttony are also comparatively common, but it's a slow death that saps lifespan by inches for the most part. Stomach-bursting episodes happen but are thankfully rare.

* In the 1973 film ''Film/LaGrandeBouffe'' (The Great Feed) four friends eat themselves to death on purpose.

* An twentieth-century Chinese folktale tells the story of four friends who travel from China to America to better their lot and help their families. Three of the men are given jobs as a tailor, cobbler, and baker, while the fourth (who repeatedly told his friends to take the better jobs at his own expense) ends up as a personal assistant -- and virtual slave -- of a cruel, rich, gluttonous businessman who gives him countless thankless tasks for next to no money. One day, the rich man commands his servant to get him a new suit, new shoes, and delicious bread for a feast; his friends happen to run into the poor man, discover his pain, and immediately agree to provide the needed items for free. The suit and shoes are an absolute perfect fit, while the bread is so [[ImpossiblyDeliciousFood incredibly tasty]] that the rich man can't stop eating it. As he stuffs his face, he gradually swells up bigger and bigger -- but his new clothes are so well-made that they won't tear or expand, which eventually makes him explode in a happy ending for all.

* Darlene Fleischermacher, one of the seven psychopaths in ''VideoGame/DeadRising3'', epitomizes the sin of Gluttony. She is an optional enemy, challenged only because she is defending an all-you-can-eat restaurant to the death. However, this proves to be Darlene's undoing when her motorized scooter tips backwards, pinning her beneath the handlebars. Her irritable belly, already engorged to impossible size, rebels from being shook up, and the scooter prevents her from freeing herself. She ends up [[UndignifiedDeath choking to death on her own vomit]].

* Exaggerated in ''WesternAnimation/{{Bratz}}'' were Burdine Maxwell instantly grows so fat that she explodes....by eating a single burger.

* Due to comparatively abundant, high-calorie food that is cheap and readily available in most developed nations, health complications from gluttony are also comparatively common, but it's a slow death that saps lifespan by inches for the most part. Stomach bursting episodes happen but are thankfully rare.

* There is a species of deep fish called the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swallower Black Swallower]] that can swallow prey over twice its size and ten times its mass. If they swallow a prey that’s big enough, than the fish’s digestive tracts will not break it down fast enough before it begins to decompose, causing deadly gases to build up in its stomach, killing the fish and causing it to float to the surface.

* In the finale of Brazilian soap ''Saramandaia'', Dona Redonda (literally "Ms. Round"), a character who is constantly seen eating, finally swells up and explodes, leaving behind a rainbow-colored crater.

When it is their {{Greed}} that does them in, see DeathByMaterialism. When it is their {{Lust}}, see DeathBySex. With {{Pride}} leads to BullyingADragon, it's DeathByMocking.

* In ''VideoGame/NetHack'', eating anything, [[TheLastStraw no matter how insubstantial]], when satiated carries the risk of choking to death over your food. JustForPun, polymorphing into a metallivorous creature and gorging on too much gold makes the cause of death "eating too rich a meal."