Takeru Kobayashi is full.
After decades of dominance, a legend in competitive eating says he literally no longer has the hunger to keep going.
Kobayashi announced his retirement in the new Netflix documentary Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut after doctors discovered his brain had become repelled by highly processed foods.
“For the past 20 years, I have been in this field,” he said. “I worry about the consequences of my decision, but most importantly, I want to repair my brain and gut.”
Kobayashi, who rose to prominence by winning six consecutive Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contests from 2001-06, set numerous eating world records during his career and became a bonafide celebrity, earning up to a reported $650,000 per year in his prime.
His career had a humble beginning: He appeared on a Japanese reality show where he consumed 60 plates of sushi, almost six pounds of potatoes and 16 bowls of ramen in one sitting.
He would go on to participate in a variety of eating events worldwide, including a 2010 pizza-eating competition in Barrie. He dominated the Ontario event, eating 40 slices in 10 minutes — 13 more than his closest opponent.
However, after years of gorging on food in the name of competition, Kobayashi began to feel less hungry in general and once went three days without food.
“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,” he said in the Netflix doc.
In the film, doctors analyzed brain scans, finding that when he sees food, all areas of the Japanese native’s brain related to nausea are activated.
“Your brain still thinks you’re in competition, in a state of eating highly processed food,” neuropsychologist Annie Gupta said.
“Everything has to work together to suppress your system so that you do not get disgusted by more and more food,” German scientist Giulia Enders added. “You can see how far your body goes for what you want, even if it has to harm itself.”
Now, Kobayashi is focusing on eating more nutritious foods in much smaller portions as he tries to rewire his brain.
“I want to live a healthy and long life, so I’ve decided to quit competitive eating contests,” he said.