Inhaling nearly 20,000 calories in 10 minutes can?t be good for the innards.
For fame and bragging rights, competitive eaters like those pounding Nathan?s hot dogs likely are doing a number on their health, doctors and dietitians warn.
“Most people can?t just eat well, and here we see that it?s glorified binge-eating,” said Angela Ginn-Meadow, a registered dietitian in Baltimore and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
While champions win trophies, other competitive eaters are rewarded with increased risk for heart disease, diabetes and obesity, she said.
The more immediate ramifications can be vomiting, heartburn and painful gas. But in the long run, speed eaters may lose the sensation of fullness, which can lead to obesity.
“You can?t really tell when you?re full,” Ginn-Meadow said.
Competitive speed eaters face gastroparesis, where the stomach muscles don?t function properly, and that can interfere with digestion and nutrition. They may also get gall stones and develop high cholesterol, said Tyler Cymet, a doctor of osteopathic medicine at Northwest Hospital who used to treat competitive eaters.
“If you have 64 hot dogs in one sitting, you don?t need those nutrients, and the food gets pocketed in the stomach,” he said.
Little examination has been done on the effects of speed eating, but researchers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania last year found that it can possibly lead to the need for a gastrectomy, the removal of part or all of the stomach.
Knowing that some competitive eaters are dead-set on winning a title, Cymet advises them to stay away from chicken wings. Foods with bones bring the added risk of getting bone pieces stuck in the throat or piercing the stomach, he said.
“If you are going to do it, stick to things that aren?t going to cause damage,” he said.
