why is it dangerous to swim after a heavy meal?

Question

I also heard that if the water is cold, the risk increases. Anybody can explain the reason and possible risks?

Answer 1

Your muscles need a steady supply of blood to work without cramping.

Digestion diverts a lot of your blood supply to your internal organs. Some people will demand that blood for their muscles and delay digestion (and perhaps puke), but some people will cramp.

In cold water, if your body temperature begines to drop, you will conserve heat by keeping all that warm blood away from the limbs that are moving through cold water. This also reduces the amount of blood to your muscles, so you may cramp.

The reason many people no longer feel that swimming after a meal is particularly dangerous is most people smim in relatively warm water, most people spend little time in the end of the pool that is over your head, and most people float around rather than exert themselves heavily to swim.

It is very dangerous to do swim laps offshore in water that is cold and over your head if your stomache is full, especially if you are not in good enough condition to reflexively delay digesting your meal, or if you cannot throw up gracefully and keep swimming.

Answer 2

The belief that swimming should be avoided after a heavy meal because blood is shunted from the stomach elsewhere to the body during any type of exercise including swimming is now considered an old wife's tale.

It was believed in the past that after a heavy meal,an increased demand for blood supply in digestive tract is increased leaving less supply of blood to the limbs. Less oxygen supply to the limbs would greatly affect the capability to swim and would impose possibility of drowning.

With less oxygen supply, the muscles would shifted to an anaerobic activities which will result to the metabolic byproduct lactic acid to accumulate in the muscles and in the blood. Such reduced oxygen level and other metabolic changes can cause muscle cramps and would put the swimmer to danger as well.

The seem to be tale explanations somehow make sense however, some experts they are not the real reasons behind.

The reason behind is that when you swim, you are most likely required to be horizontal and you don't want to be horizontal after eating because of gastroesophageal reflux including heartburn and regurgitation. The same reason that lying down or sleeping soon after a meal is adviced as inappropriate thing to do.

2-4 hours is the preferred wait time before swimming in the pool after a heavy meal- it gives a good period of time to empty out the stomach.

Answer 3

A couple of reasons.
1 is that you are generally more tired after eating a meal
2 is that while your body is in the early stages of digesting, it can bring on stomach cramps - not what you want whilst swimming!
I think the recommended wait is c.2 hours.

Answer 4

It isn't as dangerous as your mother told you when you were a kid, but after a meal you do shunt a little more of your blood flow into the splanchnic circulation so it's relatively less available to your skeletal muscles.

Answer 5

It's not "dangerous" persay, but it can cause stomachache/cramps. It's just like exercising right after you eat. You don't realize how hard your body is actually working when you swim because the water takes off the pressure.

Answer 6

lani?! Why not run for president!? You said two opposite things. Your first is correct. Wives tale. Unless swimming a triathilon there is NO danger.

Answer 7

It's not.