Although not considered a sport by some, competitive eating is considered very serious businesses by those who partake in it. There are entire leagues dedicated to the sport of competitive eating, such as Major League Eating (MLE) and the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFCE). These leagues organize eating competitions and tournaments around the world where competitors show off their gastro-intestinal skills for the chance at large sums of cash.

Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, the most famous of these events, drew over 40,000 spectators and 1.949 million viewers on ESPN in 2011. The first place winner won $10,000 and the event even had its own sports stars. Among the most famous people in the competitive eating world are Japanese competitor Takeru Kobayashi and American Joey Chestnut. On July 4, 2011, Chestnut won his fifth title by consuming 62 hot dogs, including buns, in 10 minutes while Kobayashi sat out the event due to contractual issues. Senior Eric Chiriboga said, “I don’t see anything wrong with [competitive eating]. It’s just a way to have friendly competition, and while it’s unhealthier than other competitions, like sports, I don’t think it’s all that terrible.”

Although many may think that competitive eating has no influence on their lives, the spirit of extreme foods has infiltrated just about every aspect of the media experience.  The Travel Channel, for example, airs a series known as Man v. Food, which stars actor and food enthusiast Adam Richman, who explores the food offerings of various cities before facing off against a pre-existing eating challenge at a local restaurant. Junior Kim Tricker said, “I think eating large amounts of food would have the opposite effect [of not being popular]…perhaps people just like watching other people eat.” These challenges range from the usual (eating a 4.5 pound steak) to the extraordinary (23 puffy tacos in 90 minutes).

Even on Youtube, a band of Canadians has turned making and eating extreme amounts of food into a profitable business. Epic Meal Time has created some extraordinary combinations of food, generally out of meat products (with an emphasis on bacon). Junior Anuj Mehta, who has seen the videos, stated, “It’s funny and silly in a interesting way I guess.” One such example of their culinary creations are the TurBacon Epic Thanksgiving (A bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a pig), totaling 79,046 calories and 3,855 grams of fat. The group funds their shows by sponsoring advertisements for companies such as Netflix, just going to show the financial gain possible from extreme eating.