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Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images
Dale "Mouth of the South" Boone, right, and "Gentleman" Joe Menchetti, left, stuff hamburgers in their mouths during a burger eating contest at Z-Burger in Washington D.C. on July 3, 2012.
The Fourth of July means flags and fireworks, and for some, frankfurters. As in rapidly stuffing dozens of them into their mouths in 10 minutes at the Nathan's Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Televised live on ESPN, the wiener wolf-down is the Super Bowl of Speed Eating. Watching the annual Coney Island frank fest is both riveting and repulsive as men and women compete for prize money ($10,000 to each first place finisher) and bragging rights for their championship stomachs.
But what price do these "athletes" pay for their gluttonous pig-outs and 15 minutes of frankfurter fame?
"I know it's totally not healthy, but neither is football right now," says Dave "Coondog" O'Karma, who competed at Coney Island in 2001 (finishing seventh) and 2002. He now runs All Pro Eating, which holds "picnic-style" eating contests (competitors must eat the food as they would at a picnic and not dunk it in water or mash it up in order to down it faster).
O'Karma, who is 56, competed against kids half his age. But he says he could always eat a lot of food really fast and never really struggled with his weight.
He did struggle with one contest cornerstone, though. While the former champ once chomped down 27 Krispy Kreme donuts in a minute and a half on live TV, hot dogs nearly did him in.
"I had a hard time with the garlic and the sodium," he says, admitting he would feel "incredibly nauseous and thirsty" afterwards.
Even so, O'Karma says the speed eating contests become a "war between the competitive spirit and common sense." Competitive eaters are not thinking about the health consequences 20 years down the road, he admits.
How do speed eaters do it?
The one study done on a competitive male eater seems to suggest the man had the ability to expand his stomach many times more than a larger person, says Dr. Alphonso Brown, a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. (Brown was not involved in the study.)
"Competitors can train their stomach to do this," he says.
Not only can speed eaters' stomachs expand and hold tremendous amounts of food, they also have little to no peristalsis, the rhythmic muscular contractions that move food through the digestive system, explains Brown. This means food can sit in their super-sized stomachs longer than normal eaters before emptying into the small intestine.
"Competitive eaters also appear to lack the signal that tells the brain when the stomach is full," he says. So they can scarf down a world record 68 franks and buns in 10 minutes without feeling full and uncomfortable.
As for the long-term health effects, speed eaters get way too much protein, fat, and sodium. Brown says the closest comparison is studies of people who have followed an Atkins-style diet.
This research suggests that people on high-protein, high-fat eating plans may be at greater risk for high blood pressure, kidney disease, high cholesterol, and possibly diabetes. Plus eating large amounts of red meat may boost the odds for colon cancer.
In addition, once they quit being gustatory athletes, "it's unclear if their stomachs would return to normal," Brown points out.
Considering the potential health risks (not to mention a hot dog's infamous ingredients), why would someone participate in such a gluttonous event?
O'Karma says speed-eating contests make them feel like they're champions, even for a day or an hour, pointing out that most competitors are average people in it for the fun, the camaraderie, the competitive spirit, and of course, the attention.
"It sure beats everyday living," he says. You feel like a celebrity up on the stage, and that gets very addicting."
Related stories:
Are competitive eating contests a terrible idea?
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Leave a Comment:
"It sure beats everyday living," he says. You feel like a celebrity up on the stage, and that gets very addicting."
It beats everyday living? Really? What a sad statement. When a person's bar is so low that being a glutonous freak forcing hot dogs down your throat equates to fame and the advancement of mankind, I'd be embarrassed to be quoted. Try shoving that glory down the throats of hundreds of thousands of starving little children on this planet.
Referring to these gluttons as "athletes" is a little disturbing. Don't you think?
I suspect many competitive eaters make themselves throw up after the competition's over. That way they can stretch their stomach but not suffer the digestional consequences afterwards. Just like with ballerinas and some actors/actresses, it's their little dark secret.
I find this nauseating to watch. It's a sad waste of food. I see nothing for children (for instance) to aspire to. What's the feat? Someone has managed to stretch his/her stomach so it can hold x number of whatever. No wonder this country just keeps getting fatter if this is something for which people are getting rewarded and made to feel like celebrities.
nathans hot dogs are food?
these people are basically sideshow freaks. and yes they do usually puke afterwards, yet many of them are still fat
Truly disgusting. And hot dogs? That's enough sodium nitrate/nitrite to poison someone, not to mention all the rest of the stuff in them. I can't watch those things...I'm always waiting for someone to choke, too. Ick and gross.
I always wondered how the contestats managed to perform such a feat, and now I know. I'm glad they don't seem to suffer the kinds of negative health consequences that I assumed they would. Personally, I don't even like buffets!
Stupid, stupid, stupid. I prefer to enjoy my food.
.
Thank goodness - the government limits the beverage!
What's really insane is that these competitive eaters consider themselves to be athletes. That's like saying Ham the space chimp is a rocket scientist.
i bet he takes a big poo poo in a few days.
I hear ya, LN1958362. I thought the title was a little misleading.
I wanted to know what happened after they shoved all that down their throats!
Can't be pretty.
I wouldn't be surprised if his head hits the ceiling while pinching one off.
I won't be surprised that some day they have a poop contest afterwards to see who makes the biggest or longest pile of poop. This country makes anything into a contest.
Stop being so pretentious and look at this for what it is. We all pay money for entertainment every day that does not "benefit" mankind. This is nothing more and nothing less. A huge crowd gathered here, or at chicken wing eating contest or a liver eating contest to see people do things that normal people can't do. If you would look it up, Nathan's is a huge social contributor both through money donations as well as food. Stop acting like every person every minute needs to try and save world. Did you eat anything beyond oatmeal today? If so you should have donated more and eaten less.
Umm, seems to me the pretentious one here is you if you want to apply that label to someone. I didn't feel the need to...interesting you do. This isn't about contributing or the world or anything similar. These are comments about stuffing one's face full of as much food as possible in a specific time frame. If we think it is disgusting we can comment about that here. You know, in the comment section? This isn't good for anyone, but most were saying ick or some variety of it. I personally wasn't thinking of saving the world, but what they were doing to their bodies. Who is being pretentious here?
I don't eat those many hotdogs in a year. Well maybe I do but not all at once.
It's all in fun. What bugs me are all the health police that start running their mouths. Are you so uptight that you can't let people have a little craziness for one day? It's not like they eat 60 hot dogs every day of their lives. Dang, lighten up or get a life.
Naw, only 10-20 times a year. I mean, what good would 1200 hot dogs do for a starving village in Sudan...?
Oh, yeah....
Who said anyone can't be crazy? I can be crazy...but if I want to comment that it is gross I do have that right. It is gross and i couldn't even watch one of those. And it mentions they train for this. How do you think they train? Organic oatmeal?
SO GROSS.
I saw a documentary on speed eaters a few years ago. I don't recall the name of the show. One speed eater still had the food undigested in his stomach two days after the contest, and most vomit the food after the contest. So I don't think they have any negative health effects other than bulemia.
Why in a nation with an obesity problem are we celebrating overeating?
Personally, I think the whole concept is not only moronic but also dangerous -- I cannot believe that there are no negative health consequences.
By the way, young people are overeating on a regular basis, sometimes competing to see who can eat the most.
These young people end up obese -- and there are health consequences to that.
The funny part of this story for me was the local news gal who has been on that station for years...like 30 plus years and she who is usually reserve and without editorials on anything just went on and on how she could not stand this story every year and why would anyone stuff themselves in minutes for a few bucks..she sais she could not even watch the story...of course over the 2 hours of news she had further comments about it to the point of it being too funny..I noticed the fellow who won had a hug gut once he inhaled all those dogs..really for 10,000 bucks you could really hurt something...oh yes the newscaster said they all go out and throw up after the contest so what is the point?...go for it...what ever you hobby is....
I suppose eventually assinine events such as this will be in the Olympics . . . aren't we lucky!!
Hey, if Dressage (horse ballet) can make it I think just about anything can.
Joey Chestnut has had more wienies in him than Kardashian sister...
Modern day gladiators - Slowly killing themselves for glory and to entertain the spectators. I think I will watch professional wrestling now, who are some of the best actors around. At least I know that's fake.
I love the name "O'Karma". What? Is he from Dublin India?
That statement covers many areas in addition to speed eating.
You can put any spin you want to on events like these however the participants are NOT athletes !!!
"So they can scarf down a world record 68 franks and buns in 10 minutes without feeling full and uncomfortable." Holy @!$%# stain Batman!!! I am feeling nausea just reading this! WOW!
scam?
liynchan Student Edited by: liynchan Oct 15, 11, 10:37PM | #1Joined: Oct 2, 11Threads: 3Posts: 7
they are scam?itsme Oct 16, 11, 10:56AM | #2Joined: Oct 1, 11Posts: 95
The search box gave me this much on ukessaywriting.co.uk:
FRAUD: essaybrunch.com = ukessaywriting.co.uk = mastersessay.com
As for , do you mean ?
Advanced Writers.com has ANYONE used it??? Im going to use it so comments please!
DO NOT USE
Amazing what a quick forum search can reveal. :P I wouldn't touch either of 'em with a 50ft barge pole if I were you.