There are two types of competitions in the world of competitive eating, whether you are talking about pros or about the contests you'll find at the local county fair. One type, perhaps the most popular type, emphasizes quantity and challenges participants to eat as much as they can in a set time limit. IFCOE contests from grilled cheese to ice cream to hot dogs run this way. Other contests challenge eaters to eat a certain amount as fast as possible.
With concerns about the amount of calories that the contest participants take in (and the possibility that they somehow encourage overeating and obesity), some contests are making the decision to switch to this second format, such as the committee behind the World Pie Eating Championship. Even though there have been concerns about choking in speed eating contests before, the WPEC will only have competitors eat one "regulation" meat pie in as short a time as possible. Also in the interest of health, they will be offering a meat-free pie option so as to encourage healthy eating while not discriminating against vegetarians who wish to participate.
Meatless option aside, it actually seems healthier to eat a lot of food than to simply stuff down food as fast as possible, although they planners' theory is that that goes on in the quantity-oriented contests, as well.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-28-2006 @ 4:07PM
bdw said...
Can anyone who watches these contests please explain to me the entertainment value behind this?
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11-28-2006 @ 4:19PM
Spitzmaus said...
PuhLEEZE don't get me started on this topic! I am one who simply cannot understand the appeal of this, um, "sport," particularly given the general state of unhealthiness so rampant in the country. Too many folks don't make conscious choices about what they put in their mouths; these contests merely perpetuate trend that has given rise to outsized portions and mindless eating.
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11-29-2006 @ 1:31AM
Troy said...
How about some quality and skills-based eating contests? Determine the ingredients of a dish based only on taste? Detect coffee bean sources, or the region that olive oils came from? Anything that uses one's knowledge and brains.
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11-29-2006 @ 11:17PM
esmereldagrubb said...
Alot of competetive eaters are actually quite thin ....take the japanese for example....so i wouldn't exactly say they are promoting obesity. Why not showcase their "talent"? You actually have to be quite fit to competetive eat. It's a contest...not a lifestyle.
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3-09-2007 @ 1:27PM
Miss Rachel Van Den Bergen said...
Lovely. Good idea. Because I am sick of weight watchers crap and magazines where you get prizes for living on gerbil food and looking like an emaciated matchsick. Good luck to you eating competitors.
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