Coney Is hotdog munching

A Japanese man who devoured more than 53 hot dogs in 12 minutes to break his own world record says he really prefers tofu.

A crowd of 25,000 watched 27-year-old Takeru Kobayashi take his sixth annual July 4 hot dog eating title at Coney Island in New York, downing 53.75 hot dogs.

Most cheered for his arch rival Joey Chestnut from California, whose final tally was 52 hot dogs.

"I'm not happy with the result, I'm going to be back," Mr Kobayashi said through a translator.

"I can do more but I'm not sure I want to tell you (how many)," he said, adding that hot dogs are not even his favourite food and he prefers tofu.

Standing just 168 centimetres tall and weighing 77 kilograms before the contest, Mr Kobayashi proved size is not everything in competitive eating.

Under pressure from the 22-year-old Mr Chestnut who stands 185 centimetres tall and weighs 102 kilograms, Mr Kobayashi kept his cool throughout the contest, maintaining a steady pace.

Mr Chestnut, winner of the world deep-fried asparagus eating championship, strained and turned red as he shoved fistfuls of hot dog into his mouth.

After his win, Mr Kobayashi bit into another hot dog to celebrate as he posed for photographers.

He was one of 20 competitors in the contest at the Nathan's beach-front hot dog stand.

Standing in front of a long table on a stage, the eaters dipped the dogs in soft-drinks to help them go down, monitored closely by judges who kept count.

The contest drew competitors from the United States, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Japan.

The only woman in the running was Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas of Virginia, a petite 38-year-old who earned her nickname by beating a string of men at eating events.

"I'm not satisfied, I could be better," she said after taking third place with 37 hot dogs.

Competitive eating is a popular sport in America, particularly at holidays, with contests for everything from chicken wings to "turducken", turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken.