Joey Chestnut once again king of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

The annual U.S. Independence Day competition has always been an emblem of American excess, featuring grown adults stuffing their faces well past the point that should be socially acceptable.

The 2025 event had the added fanfare of Chestnut's return after a one-year absence.

The 17-time winner was barred from the 2024 competition due to his sponsorship with Impossible Foods, a plant-based hot dog alternative. As a result, he agreed to a one-off Labor Day competitive eating Netflix special against Takeru Kobayashi, which drew little interest from a global streaming audience (Chestnut won with 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes).

While always a nauseating watch, the timing of this year's competition made it more difficult to stomach.

On Monday, Nature Medicine published a Burden of Proof study on the health effects associated with consuming processed meat, finding that any amount leads to a higher risk of diabetes and cancer.

Researchers expressed "the need for further research," while confirming "the merit of continuing to recommend limiting consumption of these foods."

Coming one day after U.S. House Republicans voted through President Donald Trump's mega $4.5 trillion tax bill, which puts "more than 5 million people ... at risk of losing at least some food assistance," per Axios, the Nathan's competition is even harder to dignify.

Following Friday's win, Chestnut apologized for not finishing more hot dogs and pledged to do better at next year's gluttony fest. 

After eating 24 more hot dogs than runner-up Patrick Bertoletti, Chestnut is his own competition for an 18th Mustard Belt in 2026. Perhaps, instead of holding the event next year, Nathan's can just ship the prize to Chestnut. All of our stomachs would be grateful.