Is competitive eating the world's weirdest sport?

The sport is popular in the US and growing in the Far East

The arrest of Takeru Kobayashi, who has avoided punishment after appearing in court to face charges that he disrupted a competitive eating contest, has intensified interest in one of the world's odder sporting phenomena.

Most of those who attend a competitive eating contest for the first time are surprised by one thing.

The contestants are not fat.

At 5ft 8in (173cm) and 132lb (60kg), Takeru Kobayashi is on the slender side, but that does not stop him eating inordinate amounts of hot dogs.

At Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on 4 July last year, he ate 64 hot dogs in 10 minutes. But that was only enough to come second.

Joey "Jaws" Chestnut chewed his way through 68. On the day, there are certain tricks. Dunking hot dog buns in water makes them easier to eat, and drinking hot water throughout makes food settle better in his stomach. Certain foods are harder to gorge on than others - he recently had difficulties at events featuring crab cakes, and chocolate bars.