By Sam McManis

McClatchy Newspapers

We're deep in summer now, prime hot dog-eating season. But how much do we really know about those tube steaks in a bun? Take this nutrition quiz.

1. How many times has Japanese competitive eating legend Takeru Kobayashi won the Nathan's Famous hot dog-eating championship on July Fourth?

a) 10

b) 6

c) 4

2. Which contains more calories:

a) A generic hot dog with bun

b) A&W restaurant Chili Cheese Coney hot dog

3. True or false: Pregnant women who consumed two or more hot dogs per week during the gestation period had an increased risk of premature birth.

4. True or false: People who consumed hot dogs and other cured meat 14 times a month were 78 percent more likely to have lung disease than those who ate none or very little.

5. Vegetarians can rejoice that the Tofu Pup veggie hot dog contains this many calories:

a) 12

b) 60

c) 245

ANSWERS: 1: b; 2: a (generic: 377 calories; A&W: 350); 3: false (the Baylor College of Medicine says there's no medical risk for pregnant women to eat hot dogs); 4: true (see a 2007 study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine); 5: b.

Sources: calorielab.com; www.bcm.edu; www.medicalnewstoday.com

c. The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee