Take a Class Resources Blog Should You Eat Right Before Swimming?

  • Does eating right before swimming have health risks or increase the risk of drowning?

    Man swimming in pool after eating.

    Date Published: July 8, 2024

    There is a persistent belief in the United States that swimming immediately after eating will cause stomach cramps, which could lead to drowning. However, eating before swimming had no effect on swimming performance and minimal side effects at several different time intervals after a meal.

    No major medical or safety organizations make any current recommendations to wait before swimming after eating. Swimming within one hour of eating food in adult and child recreational or competitive swimmers does not increase the risk of drowning.

    Sign up for a CPR class as well as the free American Red Cross course, Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers.

    Information provided by members of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council.

    • Peter Chambers, Director of Shared Research Support Services for the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh (Former SAC Member)
    • Linda Quan, M.D., Sub-Council Senior Advisor, Vice Chair Pediatric Emergency physician, Seattle Children's Hospital Professor, Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine.
    • Peter G. Wernicki, M.D., Sub-Council Senior Advisor,Orthopaedic Surgery, Pro Sports Clinical Assistant Professor, Orhopaedic Surgery, Florida State University, College of Medicine, Medical Advisor of the U.S. Lifesaving Association, Chair of the International Lifesaving Federation's Medical Committee
    • David Markenson, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Red Cross Training Services and chair of the National Scientific Advisory Council for the American Red Cross.

    References

    1. Singer RN, Neeves RE., Effect of food consumption on 200-yard freestyle swim performance. Res Q. 1968 May;39(2):355-60
    2. Asprey G, Alley L, and Tuttle W., Effect of eating at various times on subsequent performances in the one-mile freestyle swim. Res Q. 1968 May;39(2):231-4.
    3. Asprey G, Alley L, and Tuttle W., Effect of eating at various times on free-style swimming performance. J. of the American Dietetic Association. 1965 Sep; 47:198-200
    4. Ball, J., Effect of eating at various times on subsequent performances in swimming.
    5. Edlin G, Golanty, E., Health and Wellness. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
    6. Brouns F, Beckers E., Is the gut an athletic organ? Digestion, absorption and exercise. Sports Med. 1993 Apr;15(4):242-57.
    7. Duke University Health System: Duke Health consumer information portal., Myth or Fact: Wait 30 minutes after eating to go swimming. https://www.dukehealth.org/ Updated April 22, 2010.
    8. Melissa Stoppler, M.D. and William C Shiel, Jr, MD, FACP, FACR, Debunking Summer Health Myths. https://www.medicinenet.com/summer_debunking_summer_health_myths/views.htm
    9. Discovery Health Channel, Dr. Know: Swimming after a meal. DiscoveryHealth, May 16, 2006.
    10. Committee on Injury Violence, and Poison Prevention, Weiss J., Prevention of Drowning. Pediatrics. 2010;126(1):e253-262.
    11. Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention Prevention of Drowning in Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Pediatrics. 2003;112(2):437-439.
    12. Kohnle, D., True or False: Wait a Half-hour After Lunch Before Going Back in the Water—Or You Just Might Drown - HealthLibrary.
    13. Hoecker, J., Children's swimming: Keep health risks at bay - MayoClinic.com
    14. Carroll A, Carroll AE, Vreeman R., Don't Swallow Your Gum!: Myths, Half-Truths, and Outright Lies about Your Body and Health. Macmillan; 2009. “You should wait an hour after eating before you go swimming”. Page 138-9.
    15. World Health Organization, WHO | Drowning. Available at: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drowning [Accessed November 18, 2010].
    16. CDC, CDC - Injury - Water-Related Injuries Fact Sheet.

    ARC SAC June 2021

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