According to the International Federation of Competitive Eating (yes, there is an International Federation of Competitive Eating - the IFCE), Joey Chestnut is the hot dog eating world record holder by eating 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes at Nathan's Famous Fourth of July 2009 International Hot Dog Eating Contest. That's nearly at total of 20,200 calories, or 297 per frankfurter.
Unfortunately, the IFCE doesn't stop with hot dogs. They sponsor everything from Tempura Deep Fried Asparagus Spears at the Stockton Asparagus Fest to Pickled Jalapenos at the Texas State Fair to Whole Turkey. Eating as sport is simply in bad taste. and would actually be funny if it wasn't so alarming.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the last 20 years has seen obesity in general balloon (measured by a Body Mass Index of 30 or higher.) In 1985, 10 states had a prevalence of obesity less than 10% and no states had prevalence equal to or greater than 15%. In 2007, only one state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; three of these states had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%. [1]
Health Consequences of Competitive Eating
There are a variety of causes for obesity - environment, genetics, disease, drugs. All may be contributing factors but "despite obesity having strong genetic determinants, the genetic composition of the population does not change rapidly. Therefore, the large increase in . . . [obesity] must reflect major changes in non-genetic factors." [2] The problem is people, and especially children, take their behavior cues from those around them. Increasingly, those around them, ranging from overweight Uncle Harry to Spike TV to the Food Network, are saying it's OK to overeat. Go ahead, gluttony is a virtue.
Economic Impact
Overweight and obesity and their associated health problems have a significant economic impact on the U.S. health care system. The 1998 aggregate adult medical expenditures attributable to overweight and obesity is estimated to be between $51.5 billion and $78.5 billion. [3]
In a November 21, 2007 article in the phillyBurbs.com, Dr. Lee Kaplan, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center in Boston, said concerns over the link between the contests and obesity aren't well founded. "I think these competitions are somewhat caricatures of eating behavior ... and don't have much relevance to the obesity problem," he said. [4] A somewhat naive position.
Conclusions
In an article titled Competitive Speed Eating: Truth and Consequences, the authors concluded that "professional speed eaters eventually may develop morbid obesity, profound gastroparesis, intractable nausea and vomiting, and even the need for a gastrectomy. Despite its growing popularity, competitive speed eating is a potentially self-destructive form of behavior." [5]
Competitive eating is a symbol, cause and consequence of our obsession with the train wreck that is reality TV. The problem is it's one culprit in our nations collective eating disorder. Competitive eating shows the lack of respect we give food and the cultural misappropriation the role food in our lives. There may not be a direct correlation between watching Joey scarf down 5 dozen hot dogs and the general obesity problem but don't be fooled into thinking that there isn't some form of relationship and that we have some form of responsibility.
Is this what we should be teaching the next generation?
[1] Center for Disease Control and Prevention. "U.S. Obesity Trends 1985–2007."
[2] Hill, James O., and Trowbridge, Frederick L. "Childhood obesity: future directions and research priorities. Pediatrics." 1998; Supplement: 571.
[3] Wolf AM, Colditz GA. "Current estimates of the economic cost of obesity in the United States." Obesity Research. 1998;6(2):97–106 and Wolf, A. "What is the economic case for treating obesity?" Obesity Research. 1998;6(suppl)2S–7S.
[4] Crumb, Michael J. "Some Say Eating Contests in Bad Taste." phillyBurbs.com 27 Nov. 2007.
[5] Levine, Marc S., Abass Alavi, Geoffrey Spencer, and David C. Metz. "Competitive Speed Eating: Truth and Consequences." American Journal of Roentgeology 189 (2007): 681-86.
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