It’s simultaneously disheartening and expected to hear that Americans know little about something they’re about to gorge themselves on this Fourth of July: hot dogs. Every July 4, Americans chow down on an estimated 150 million of them, at least a quarter of those consumed by Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest contestants.According to a new survey by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, detailed by Gizmodo, Americans eat a lot of hot dogs and yet still have no clue about their health risks. Despite the overwhelming cultural concept of hot dogs being simultaneously delicious and deeply unhealthy, nearly 90 percent of Americans either don’t know or can’t identify the specific health risks associated with processed meat.The poll of 2,201 adults found that 59 percent eat hot dogs at least once a month, while roughly one in four eat them at least once a week. Yet only 11 percent of respondents could name specific health risks. Forty percent said they weren’t aware of any risks at all, and another 49 percent knew there were risks but couldn’t say what they were, probably because their mouths were too full of hot dogs at the time.A New Survey Says Most Americans Don’t Know the Health Risks of Hot DogsIt’s a bit wild, considering the prevailing cultural perception of processed meats, especially hot dogs, which have long carried a stigma as filled with an unhealthy mix of mystery meats and chemicals.Hot dogs are processed meats, which the World Health Organization classifies as a group 1 carcinogen, meaning there’s convincing enough evidence that it causes cancer in humans. Eating only 50 grams of processed meat, which is roughly the equivalent of a single hot dog per day, is associated with an 18 percent increase in the risk of colorectal cancer. Beyond that, processed meats are regularly linked to heart disease, type II diabetes, and a variety of chronic illnesses.And yet, somehow, in this age when people are supposedly rebelling against processed foods, a shocking number of survey respondents were just finding out that hot dogs can be bad for you.Of course, the survey isn’t suggesting that eating one hot dog and a barbecue on July 4 is a public health emergency. It’s more about the long, sustained habit of regularly eating hot dogs, even though they are darn delicious. They are inexpensive, readily available, and easy to cook, so it makes sense that many people eat hot dogs as a quick source of sustenance. But not knowing that eating a lot of them can kill you seems like a shockingly huge information gap.The post Americans Love Hot Dogs, but Most Don’t Know Why They’re Bad for You appeared first on VICE.