July 4th marks the celebration of all things American. Within the past century, the focus of the 4th has taken an overwhelming turn from a focus on freedom and sacrifice, to one of food, fireworks, and friends. While some may argue this unpatriotic turn of events in the younger generation is a bad thing, I believe that there is nothing more patriotic than the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. In the past, competitive eating was a spectacle only to be held in the school cafeterias and at the county fair grounds. The common belief during these times were the bigger the man, the bigger the advantage. Since then, things have changed. The competitions are mainstream and the airing of the event on the 4th an awaited event for all families.
Unlike all other sports, which only engage the men and women who play or enjoy, watching the event, competitive eating reaches all genres. Because we as American’s know how to do one thing: eat. It doesn’t matter if it’s fattening or healthy, we eat all the time. But in the sport of competitive eating, being a human garbage disposal is your job.
On Friday, Joey Chestnut disposed of 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes, then managed to beat Kobayashi in a 5 dog eat off. According to Michelle Obama, she had “never felt so proud of America”. Maybe a little too far, but I know my own party of men were chanting ‘MERICA as Chestnut wiggled the final bites into his overstuffed mouth. As his stomach bulged, his gratification swelled. He carried his food baby prouder than a mother nearing the birth of her first child.
Well, a mother that was dreading the birth. During the competition, Chestnut consumed nearly 6,600 grams of dog and bun . . . not including the water. This is equivalent to 14.55 lbs, which makes ‘food baby’ a drastic understatement. And for those of us trying to keep our diet under 3,000 calories, he nommed an astonishing 19,600 calories and 1,280 grams of fat. This leaves one question: could competitive eating have killed Chestnut?
The answer is yes. In an article by slate there have been multiple injuries and deaths associated with the sport of competitive eating. Kobayashi suffers from TMJ, where years of putting extreme stress on his jaw has weakened the tendons and has left the jaw virtually “free floating”. In 1991, a Moon-Pie eating champion suffered a stroke after attempting to eat 38 soft boiled eggs in 29 seconds (close to 4.75 lbs worth of food). And just this year, a California woman died from drinking nearly 2 gallons of water in a competition to win a Nintendo Wii. But none of this affected Chestnut, the man who vowed to never regurgitate the 14.55 lbs of Nathan’s hot dogs settled in his stomach.
Assuming Chestnut burns an average of 500 calories per training session, and work out at least 3 – 4 times per week, it will take him nearly 12 weeks to burn off the intake from this one eating competition. But according to Chestnut in an ESPN interview, dieting and exercise are not a problem for him:
They have told me there are risks, but the main risk is getting fat. You cannot lose track of calories, so i am very disciplined in my diet when I am not in a competition; I do count calories all the time. Going into a contest I do not eat solid food and take in minimal calories for days so I am hungry. After a contest I try to eat fairly healthy. One doctror said I was at risk for diabetes and another one said I was not at risk. There is really not that much research out there.
How did Chestnut train for the competition?
Prior to July 4th, Chestnut treated the event like a marathon, gradually increasing the amount of food in his body to allow his muscles to adapt and become use to the increased intake of food. Three to four times per week, Chestnut would ‘speed eat’ to make sure his reflexes were strong and ready for the big show. Often competitive eaters will gorge themselves in celery to stretch their stomachs an overcome any gag reflex. It also helps that digesting this food burns more calories than ingesting it.
During the day of the event, nearly all eaters refrain from solid foods, and focus solely on water to keep their stomachs stretched to the max. Water during the contest also helps eliminate any “fluff” in the buns and helps the dogs go down smoother at the bottom of the stomach. A ‘wiggle’, which is Chestnut’s preferred movement, helps aid the food down the esophagus while still ingesting food. After practicing all these techniques, Chestnut has become the superstar of competitive eating, and an American hero.
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