Eat and Swim

12 December 2022
Habiba Yehia

We're warned that swimming on a full stomach is risky because we can develop

cramps, a stitch, or even drown. Is this, however, accurate?
No proof exercising after eating causes cramping, but we do know that intense
activity sends blood flow away from the digestive area and into the skin and
muscles in your arms, legs, and skin. As a result, if your food is still partially
digested, you may feel nauseated. Extreme fear makes
you sick for the same reason.
Professional swimmers take care not to compete on a
full stomach, but they do eat enough to supply the fuel
they need to perform at their best. When speed
swimmers swim particularly long distances, they even eat
throughout the race. If they do feel cramps, it appears to
be due to overtraining rather than eating.
It was shown that competitive swimmers are significantly more likely than
runners to have a stitch. Even if they had waited the required hour before the
activity, people who had eaten a heavy lunch between one and two hours before
a race were more likely to have a stitch.
Is there any evidence that you might drown if you fall to a stitch or cramp?
When a kid is in shallow water, he or she can stand up. With a stitch, you can
even float on your back. A kid would be at risk only if they were in deep water
with nothing to grip onto and were not proficient enough at swimming.
Eating does not appear to be a contributing factor. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, for example, cites the primary dangers as being unable to
swim, a lack of fence surrounding pools, and a lack of monitoring. Another big
factor in adults is consuming alcohol before swimming.
Regardless, there are additional reasons not to do swimming immediately after
lunch, such as avoiding feeling unwell and staying out of the sun when it is at its
warmest in the early afternoon. So, warning kids they could drown because they
just ate is one technique to encourage them to listen to you. However, based on
the facts, it does not appear to be supported by science.
This research was made with the help of Claudia Hammond, Health Check on the BBC World Service.
https://www.rd.com/list/false-facts-everyone-believes/
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20130401-can-you-swim-just-after-eating
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eatthis.com%2Fswimming-after-eating
%2F&psig=AOvVaw1Rm7CmC5YxDh3ORCH4nQ9q&ust=1671123905569000&source=images&cd=vfe&v
ed=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCOiWifPL-fsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI
https://www.rd.com/list/world-facts/

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20130401-can-you-swim-just-after-eating
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eatthis.com%2Fswimming-after-eating
%2F&psig=AOvVaw1Rm7CmC5YxDh3ORCH4nQ9q&ust=1671123905569000&source=images&cd=vfe&v
ed=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCOiWifPL-fsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI