Eating contests have
exploded in popularity.
Eating contests have evolved from county-fair curiosities to international spectator events. A California man took the 2011 top prize at the annual Nathan's Famous contest in front of a massive ESPN viewing audience by ingesting 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. But recent evaluations by physicians and scientists outline the dangers of the contests, citing not only the physical dangers but also psychological concerns in the messages the contests are sending.
Emergence Of Eating Contests
Eating contest are becoming big business.
Eating contests are big business for competitors, sponsors and sports networks. Professional eating has become a serious activity with a growing fan base and increasing prize money. The International Federation of Competitive Eating promotes and oversees eating contests of hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, rice balls and cow brains around the world.
Training Methods
Competitors train their stomachs to hold huge quantities of food.
Contestants train themselves to psychologically turn off signals sent to the brain from the stomach that indicate fullness. Training is slow and methodical, eventually allowing competitors to stretch the stomach, rendering it a weakened and loose bag instead of a contracting muscular organ. Stretched beyond its limit, the stomach no longer sends food immediately on its way through the digestive tract.
Psychological Dangers
Eating contests may be sending dangerous messages to casual observers.
In 2007, the University Of Pennsylvania School of Medicine examined short-term effects of eating contests and concluded that studies on long-term health effects as well as the psychological dangers of the contests are needed. Public health officials are concerned with the marked increase in obesity and binge eating over the past 20 years, raising concern regarding the messages the contests send to the general public.
Physical Dangers
Eating contests can result in short- and long-term consequences.
Eating contests can impact competitors on a short- and long-term basis. The University of Pennsylvania study identified short-term dangers including stomach perforation, water intoxication, risk of aspiration after vomiting and jaw fracture. Stomach paralysis can occur and lead to chronic indigestion, nausea and vomiting, and gastrectomy. Contestants need to measure food on a regular basis in order to avoid weight gain -- diligence that may wain with age and result in morbid obesity, a danger that increases with age.
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