Former hot dog eating champion retires from competitive eating, citing health
(CNN) - Six-time Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest champion Takeru Kobayashi is retiring from competitive eating, citing health concerns.
The 46-year-old said decades of overeating has left him with no appetite or sensation of fullness.
His wife, Maggie James, said he now goes days without eating at all.
Kobayashi announced the news in Netflix’s documentary, “Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut.”
He started his career in 2000 on a Japanese variety show where he ate 16 bowls of ramen in one hour.
One year later, he set a new world record by eating 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes at the Coney Island hot dog eating contest.
He went on to win the Nathan’s mustard yellow belt that year and the five years that followed.
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