If they had legs, they’d bolt from the stage and run for their lives. But they don’t. They’re hot dogs.

They’re innocent, defenseless weenies, ravaged by remorseless eating machines like San Jose’s chomp champs — Joey “Jaws” Chestnut and Matt “Megatoad” Stonie – who will once again vie for the coveted Mustard Belt at this year’s Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest (boy, that’s a mouthful) at Coney Island, New York.

For some, the sight of this frightful frankfurter carnage is unbearable to behold. Others can’t look away, instead hungrily egging on the spectacle as dozens of dogs meet their doom down determined digestive tracts. (Chestnut won the Nathan’s event last year, eating 70 dogs in 10 minutes – 10 minutes! 70! That includes buns! R.I.P. dogs.)

“If it’s worth eating fast, I’m there,” Chestnut says from his San Jose home, although he admits oysters give him pause. “It’s really fun to make people happy by doing something this ridiculous and fun.”

Yes, the collective American pie hole clearly has an insatiable appetite for extreme eating. Food contests take place with regularity at festivals and restaurants around the country, challenging omnivores with everything from hot dogs, pizzas and tacos to wontons, oysters and deep-fried asparagus. Even Peeps — in April, Stonie set a new record for inhaling 255 of the sweet little pastel chicks in five minutes in Maryland. R.I.P. chicks.

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How to watch San Jose champs in the 2017 Nathan’s hot dog contest The sport, as some call it, is growing by gastronomical proportions.

Indeed, for most of the 20th century, the summit of conspicuous consumption was the humble pie-eating contest at your local county fair. Now, it’s reached pro status. There are governing bodies like Major League Eating and All Pro Eating Promotions.There are sanctioned events, qualifying circuits, star players with contracts, fans, ESPN broadcasts, big cash prizes and event sponsors – some particularly apropos of the theme, like Pepto Bismol.

Though critics insist competitive eating sends the wrong food message to a nation filled with excess, obesity and eating disorders, even the naysayers can’t seem to keep it down.

“Ten years ago, we probably had 1,000 people (at the Nathan’s event),” says Richard Shea, president of Major League Eating. Shea and his brother, George Shea, started the league in the late 1990s and now produce about 85 contests a year with nearly $600,000 in prizes. They consider the Nation’s event their Super Bowl. “At last year’s (Nathan’s), we had about 40,000 people on site and millions viewing it around the world.”

Vicariously voracious

Part of the thanks and/or blame for the recent growth may go to Travel Channel’s “Man vs. Food” show, which ended in 2012 but is set to relaunch in August with a new host taking on food challenges at restaurants around the country.

Still, the question lingers on the tongue like the taste of a bad shrimp: Why? Why is this so popular? Sure, contestants do it for prizes such as cash or free T-shirts and a bounty of bragging rights. But why do so many people want to watch other people do it?

“It’s just fun to watch,” says Jimmy Orozco, owner of Iguanas restaurant in San Jose, home of the BurritoZilla, a five pound, 18-inch burrito — the small mountain that launched Chestnut’s career when he won their annual Scarfing Showdown contest in 2004. Iguanas was featured on “Man vs. Food” in 2009. “People get really into it,” he says. “They cheer you on. ‘Go! Go! Go! It’s quite the spectacle.”

It’s also an everyman’s game. “We all eat. You and I know what it means to eat a couple hot dogs, so you can benchmark it,” Richard Shea says. “But to see someone eat 70 hot dogs in a sitting — it’s stunning.”

True. Yet it’s all fun and games until somebody busts a gut. Health experts say there could be long-term digestive-system and other health problems for those who compete regularly. In 2011, the American Medical Association came out against speed eating, citing risks and “an unhealthy example for spectators.”

“These events are an amazing thing to watch and folks are both dazzled and disgusted,” says Tom Plante, a psychologist and professor at Santa Clara University and at Stanford University School of Medicine. “Yet the message isn’t really good on a number of fronts. So many people in our world tragically can’t get enough to eat or can’t find a way to eat in a healthy manner. These events might be fun for some, but they do perhaps come with a cost.”

Risks and rewards

There are indeed injuries. There have even been deaths at some competitions. Two people choked to death earlier this year, in Connecticut and Colorado — one on pancakes, the other on doughnuts.

Richard Shea says there are controls in place at sanctioned events to keep people safe — every MLE event has paramedics on hand, and no one under 18 may compete. And while there are risks, Chestnut says that comes with any sport, equating it with race car driving. “People drive fast and that’s inherently dangerous,” he says. “But racing is exciting. People love it. Eating food is one of the best things in life and competition is one of the best things in life. It’s a great combination.”

Many well-known eaters say they do have healthy lifestyles. Sonya Thomas, the women’s champ known as the “Black Widow,” weighs a trim 100 pounds. Stonie is compact and skinny and sticks to a strict, healthful diet between competitions. “I need to be in shape to do this stuff, so it keeps me going to the gym every day,” he says.

Randy Santel is a competitive eater who runs an online listing of nationwide food challenges and also promotes fitness and nutrition.

“When not doing the food challenges, I stick to a healthier diet to keep my cholesterol low, while helping me lose the excess weight I gain during my challenges,” Santel says. “Yes, it is a contradiction to most people, but I am able to find a sense of moderation and make everything work.”

San Jose: Something in the water?

Chestnut and Stonie — who both do this full time, making six figures in prize money and appearance fees — devour the competition wherever they go. At Nathan’s hot dog event, “it’s been the Joey and Matt show for a few years now,” Shea says. But they may have to watch their backs this year as two East Coast up-and-comers may give them a run for their money.

Stonie and Chestnut admit they don’t know why San Jose has produced the country’s two reigning chowhound champs. Maybe it’s something in the water. Or, as Orozco would say, it’s in the burritos.

“Matt and Joey are both super nice guys and have been customers and friends of Iguanas for a very long time. They’ve competed in BurritoZilla and won,” he says. “I shouldn’t take credit for their success, but … maybe we are the common denominator of the two.”

If you watch

What: 2017 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest

When:7:50 a.m. Pacific time, the women’s competition; followed around 9 a.m. with the men’s round. (Re-aired at noon.)

Where: ESPN3