Competitive eating
Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions can last up to thirty minutes, with the person consuming the most food being declared the winner. Competitive eating is most popular in the United States, Canada, and Japan, where organized professional eating contests often offer prizes, including cash.
"Wolfing" redirects here. For the hunting of wolves, see Wolfers and Wolf hunting.Contest structure[edit]
Food[edit]
The type of food used in contests varies greatly, with each contest typically only using one type of food (e.g. a hot dog eating contest). Foods used in professional eating contests include hamburgers, hot dogs,[28] pies, pancakes, chicken wings, asparagus, stinging nettles, pizza, ribs, whole turkeys, among many other types of food. Foods can reflect local cultures, such as vegan hot dogs in Austin, Texas.[29]
Training and preparation[edit]
Many professional competitive eaters undergo rigorous personal training in order to increase their stomach capacity and eating speed with various foods. Stomach elasticity is usually considered the key to eating success, and competitors commonly train by drinking large amounts of water over a short time to stretch out the stomach. Others combine the consumption of water with large quantities of low calorie foods such as vegetables or salads. Some eaters chew large amounts of gum in order to build jaw strength.[31] Perhaps paradoxically, maintaining a low body fat percentage is thought to be helpful in competitive eating; this is known as the belt of fat theory.
For a marquee event like the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, some eaters, like current contest champion Joey Chestnut, will begin training several months before the event with personal time trials using the contest food.[32] Retired competitive eater Ed "Cookie" Jarvis trained by consuming entire heads of boiled cabbage followed by drinking up to two gallons of water every day for two weeks before a contest.[33] Due to the risks involved with training alone or without emergency medical supervision, the IFOCE actively discourages training of any sort.[34]
Organizations[edit]
All Pro Eating[edit]
All Pro Eating Competitive Eaters include Molly Schuyler, Eric "Silo" Dahl, Jamie "The Bear" McDonald and Stephanie "Xanadu" Torres (deceased).[35][36]
IFOCE[edit]
The International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) hosts nearly 50 "Major League Eating" events[37] across North America every year.
Other challenges[edit]
Eating contests sponsored by restaurants can involve a challenge to eat large or extraordinarily spicy food items, including giant steaks, hamburgers and curries in a set amount of time. Those who finish the item are often rewarded by getting the item for free, a T-shirt, and/or their addition to a wall of challenge victors. For example, Ward's House of Prime located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has a prime rib meat challenge. The current record is 360 ounces by Molly Schuyler in June 2017.
Various challenges of this type are featured in the Travel Channel reality show Man v. Food, which premiered in 2008.
This type of challenge was satirized in 1998 King of the Hill episode "And They Call It Bobby Love." The A.V. Club claimed that Bobby completing the steak eating contest to spite his vegetarian ex-girlfriend "remains one of the best scenes in the show’s history."[38]
Criticisms and dangers[edit]
Criticisms[edit]
One criticism of competitive eating is the message that the gluttonous sport sends as obesity levels rise among Americans,[40] and the example it sets for youth.[41] In China, eating contests have been criticized for their promotion of food waste and "celebration of gluttony" in a time of rising of childhood obesity;[42] China passed a law in 2021 which banned competitive eating competitions and "mukbang" binge-eating videos in an effort to combat food waste, with offenders facing fines of up to 100,000 Yuan.[43][44]
Psychiatrist and eating disorder specialist Kim Dennis has stated that "somebody eating 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes is self-abuse to some extent" and warned that competitive eating carries "risks with regards to development of an eating disorder for people who had any sort of genetic predisposition to have one".[45] Competitive eater Patrick Bertoletti has compared competitive eating itself to an eating disorder, stating "It's like controlled bulimia. It's bulimia where you get paid for it. It's me trading on an eating disorder for money."[46]
Dangers[edit]
Negative health effects of competitive eating include delayed stomach emptying, aspiration pneumonia, perforation of the stomach, Boerhaave syndrome, and obesity.[47]
Other medical professionals contend that binge eating can cause stomach perforations in those with ulcers and gulping large quantities of water during training can lead to water intoxication, a condition caused by diluted electrolytes in the blood.[28] Long term effects of delayed stomach emptying include chronic indigestion, nausea and vomiting.[28]
Discomfort following an event is common with nausea, heartburn, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea.[48] People may also use laxatives or force themselves to vomit following the event, with associated risks.[48] Retired competitive eater Don "Moses" Lerman said that he would "stretch [his] stomach until it causes internal bleeding" in competitions.[49]