Grandstanding with Joey Chestnut – Concerns with Competitive Eating 

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Doctors Want Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Canceled, America & Joey Chestnut Probably Disagree.

The Fourth of July means a lot of things to America. On that day in 1776, we adopted the Declaration of Independence, establishing our sovereignty from the British Empire. On that day every year, loved ones can spend the day off together to watch brilliant colors explode in the sky. And on that day, every year, a select few Americans gather on Coney Island to demonstrate what America is possibly best known for: how much we can digest in a single sitting. But if it were up to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, then Nathan’s Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest would no longer be a thing.

The Physicians Committee is a national nonprofit of over 10,000 doctors, and they’ve decided to take a stand against this national tradition, all in the name of physical responsibility. I received an email from them containing a letter they sent to Eric Gatoff, Chief Executive Officer of Nathan’s Famous, Inc., urging them to, “Cancel the eating contest, reevaluate your menu, and help reverse America’s health crisis.” So what’s with the attack on hot dogs? Apparently last year, Joey Chestnut won the contest by eating 69 hot dogs. The nutrition on that equates to 18,270 calories, 1,173 grams of fat, 414 grams of saturated fat, 35.4 grams of trans fat, and 2,415 milligrams of cholesterol, according to the Physicians. That’s a whole lot of numbers to be eating.

Making our forefathers proud, got to love celebritism in this crazy country!