Little Rock-based Arkansas Children's Hospital will no longer serve hot dogs.
The news comes amid an advertising campaign launched in February by the Physicians Committee — a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit with 12,000 physicians. At the time of the launch, the committee cited a 2008 study showing hot dogs are among the foods posing the highest choking hazards for young children, as well as a 2015 study showing hot dogs are linked to high risk of colon cancer. The campaign included writing to Arkansas Children's Hospital and installing bus interior advertisements in more than 40 Little Rock buses calling on the facility to ban #HazardousHotDogs, according to the committee.
The committee said in a news release the American Medical Association has also urged hospitals "to improve the health of patients, staff, and visitors by (1) providing a variety of healthful food, including plant-based meals and meals that are low in fat, sodium and added sugars, (2) eliminating processed meats from menus, and (3) providing and promoting healthful beverages."
"Arkansas Children's Hospital is becoming a leader in preventing diet-related diseases by providing tasty, plant-based options and removing hot dogs from patient menus," said Lee Crosby, committee staff dietitian.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson also agreed this year to remove hot dogs from patient menus, according to the committee.