I am sure that for humans at one time the term "competitive eating" had an entirely different meaning. Surviving the harsh elements of primitive society and being the low man on the totem pole meant real competition--survival of the fittest--for the neanderthal man. However,through evolution, the human has finessed his way to the top of the food chain and has become the hunter instead of the hunted. The eat or be eaten carnal urge has waned a bit, and the very definition of competition has changed.
Competitive or Professional Eating is a popular pastime in the U.S. which began early in the nineteenth century at Nathan's Famous (a hot dog eatery) at Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y. The winner of the first competition ate just 13 franks-a mere fraction of what today's "athletes" consume. Nearly a hundred years after its inception, Professional Eating has earned its bragging rights outfitted with a company dedicated to overseeing the 80-100 events hosted nationally and internationally each year. Major League Eating promotes this "sport" and generates revenue and global attention increasing publicity for these glorified public displays of gluttony.
The battle of the bulge is a hard and ardurous one, especially when we reward obsessively and greedily consuming as much one can for profit ( cash prizes range from $200 to $15,000). In a time where terminal and chronic diseases run rampant, I cannot help but to wonder why these contests exist? I suppose at first glance it is quite hilarous to watch men and women of all shapes and sizes shove anything from hot dogs to matzo balls down their throats. However, the downside cannot and should not be ignored. But then again, we as Americans love to be entertained, even if it is at the expense of others. Oh well..bon apetite!
My friend from England asked me "Why are food portions here in America so big?" to which I replied "I don't know they're normal to me." He went on to tell me how disproportionate food portions were in America compared to those of England. I didn't even realize.
ReplyDeleteThis is in my opinion, one of the leading causes of obesity in America. The amount of food we as Americans eat is ridiculous. What is placed in front of you is what you will eat. So why don't we give smaller portions and we will eat less? Well in a study done by Dr. Lisa Young, a professor at NYU, this is one of the things she suggests to prevent us from eating such large portions. Her other suggestions include education about health, the FDA needs to come out with one standard way to guide us, instead of it being cheaper to buy more at one time make it cheaper to buy less at one time and finally place a limit on portion size. According to Dr. Young all these things will help make a difference.
Do people not realize this is their health? Their life? We read in one of the articles in class a statistic that Americans were more likely to have heart failure than the French. I saw another stat which showed America as being the most obese country in the world. Yet this still comes as a complete shock. I was also naive until being told about it and doing some of my own research. But now that I know what's going on, what will I do about it? And now that I have informed you, what will you do about it?
Fast food is one of the biggest causes of obesity. One reason is that the high fat and calorie foods are actually cheaper to buy. Salads at fast food stores cost more than the fatty sandwiches, such as a Big Mac or a double cheeseburger. In the documentary "Super Size Me", Morgan Spurlock proves this point by eating McDonald's for every meal for one month. He gains about 25 pounds, has high cholesterol, heart palpitations, sexual dysfunction, liver problems and other effects on his health. After that film, McDonald's stopped their extra large and super size meal options, only going up to a size large.
ReplyDeleteNow the calories are listed at almost every fast food place. Some people have become aware and are careful, but most people still consume a lot of fast food. People do not realize they are harming their future health in the long run.