Doctors warn of hot dogs via billboard

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. physicians' group sponsored a billboard near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway warning NASCAR Sprint Cup fans "Hot dogs can wreck your health."

The billboard shows an image of hot dogs sticking out of a cigarette pack with the skull and crossbones and "Warning: Hot dogs can wreck your health." It directs race fans to www.CancerProject.org.

The billboard is sponsored by the Cancer Project of the non-profit group the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

"A hot dog a day could send you to an early grave," Susan Levin, nutrition education director of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, says in a statement.

"Processed meats like hot dogs can increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease and various types of cancer. Like cigarettes, hot dogs should come with a warning label that helps racing fans and other consumers understand the health risk."

At the Indianapolis 500 races, concession stands at the speedway, last year, served more than 1.1 million hot dogs, Levin says.

The American Institute for Cancer Research reports one 50-gram serving of processed meat -- about one hot dog -- consumed daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer, on average, by 21 percent.