Kiwi model eats 22 Big Macs in one sitting

Nela Zisser ate almost a kilo of meat in her attempted record-breaking feast. Photo / YouTube

A former Miss Earth New Zealand has gobbled down 22 Big Macs in under an hour.

Nela Zisser, 23, from Christchurch, is not new to eating competitions and defies the modelling stereotype with her hobby.

Posting videos to her YouTube channel "Nela Eats", Zisser has also triumphantly downed 27 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in 100 seconds, a 1kg burrrito and 100 pieces of sushi at which point Auckland University of Technology Professor of Nutrition Elaine Rush said Miss Zisser's food feats indicated she has an extraordinary body, in the freakish manner of a sword-swallower's throat.

Zisser's latest gorging, which amounts to 12,386 calories and almost a kilo of meat, was an attempt to out-eat current record holder Matt Stonie who managed 25 Big Macs in 22 minutes.

In her video, she makes a promising start, chowing through her first burger in 45 seconds. By her sixth she appears to hit a snag, sipping water after most mouthfuls.

At burger number eight, she's discovered squishing the buns helps to chew them faster.

But when she reaches 22 minutes and is only on to her 12th burger, it's clear the record will remain with Stonie.

However, she's still in with a chance of second place, currently held by a man known as BeardMeetsFood who ate 17 Big Macs in an hour, a feat which - he comments under her video - put him in hospital.

Zisser's battery dies at 45 minutes and burger 20, so viewers don't get to see her final bite. But she later announces that she managed 22 Big Macs in just under an hour - "the most food I've ever done in my life".

The former Miss Earth New Zealand, who moved from Christchurch to Auckland in 2013 to pursue modelling, has previously spoken out about models' diets:

"I think the stereotypes about models avoiding fast-food as part of their diet are untrue," she told Daily Mail Australia.

"The models I know are always eating, especially backstage at fashion shows and photo shoots. I think you should never deprive yourself as that leads to unhealthy behaviours."

She added: "I believe in the 20/80 rule where 80 per cent of the time, I'm eating healthy and keeping fit."

- nzherald.co.nz