World eating champion retires as he is no longer hungry

A competitive eating champion from Japan has revealed his retirement because he is no longer hungry.

The world of competitive eating is a bizarre place, with awards and accolades on the line for those who can consume the most in one sitting. Last year the UK even hosted a qualifying event for the “World Cup” of competitive hot dog eating.

But one man those contests won’t see again is Takeru Kobayashi, who has retired due to his inability to feel hunger.

46-year-old Kobayashi won six consecutive titles at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York and once ate almost 65 hotdogs in one sitting.

He made a good living from competitive eating, earning 100 million yen (£503,000) and making him able to support his family with his talent.

However, Kobayashi has become concerned for his health and decided to retire after no longer being able to feel hunger or to smell food.

In the Netflix documentary Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut, Kobayashi explained: “When you eat too much, you lose the ability to smell the food, and you also ignore signals from your body, such as feeling full.”

His wife explained that he once went three full days without eating because he didn’t feel hungry. According to brain scans, the sight of food activates parts of his brain, such as those related to nausea and satiety, as his body feels as though it is in competitive eating mode.

Neuropsychologist Annie Gupta told him: “Your brain still thinks you’re in competition, in a state of eating highly processed food.

German gut expert Giulia Enders, added: “If everything has to work together to suppress your system so that you do not get disgusted by more and more food. You can see how far your body goes for what you want, even if it has to harm itself.”

He explained he has retired from competitive eating competitions in order to try and fix the link between his brain and his gut, and to learn to listen to his body again.

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