United States of Overeating

Monday, 25 January 2010 | by Pat's Picks

What, please tell me, is gratifying about eating five large hot dogs in less than three minutes? That’s just one of the examples Cleveland Plain-Dealer writer Michael Heaton uses to illustrate his point that gluttony is the competitive sport du jour.

Every day we read stories about the obesity epidemic that is choking America. In New York, calories are counted for us on fast food menus and almost every day it seems like Mayor Bloomberg puts another food that’s bad for us in his cross hairs.

But still more and more restaurants are “daring us to eat oversize items in record time” and rewarding us when we do so. Maybe it’s the American appetite for competition or the glut of competitive eating shows on TV like Heaton opines. Or maybe it’s the allure of a contest where the only physical training involves stuffing your face. Regardless the reason, it seems clear that we’ve collectively spit out the small plate trend demurely into our napkins and moved on to fry bigger fish. 

Click here for a list of world records from the International Federation of Competitive Eating

Scroll down to hear Heaton interview the World’s corn cob eating champion as he attempts to add hot dogs to his repertoire.