"Wait a half hour after eating before you can safely go swimming." This one seemed almost universally accepted when I was a child and is still believed today. The myth involves the possibility of suffering severe muscle cramping and drowning from swimming on a full stomach. While it's true that the digestive process does divert the circulation of the blood toward the gut and to a certain extent, away from the muscles, the fact is that an episode of drowning caused by swimming on a full stomach has never been documented. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Red Cross makes any specific recommendations about waiting any amount of time after eating before taking a swim. There's a theoretical possibility that one could develop a cramp while swimming with a full stomach, but a person swimming in a pool or controlled swimming area could easily exit the water if this happens. As with any exercise after eating, swimming right after a big meal might be uncomfortable, but it won't cause you to drown.
MELISSA CONRAD STÖPPLER, MD
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Dr. Stöppler served as an Assistant Professor of Pathology in the Georgetown University School of Medicine and has also served on the medical faculty at the University of Marburg, Germany. Her research in the area of virus-induced cancers has been funded by the National Institutes of Health as well as by private foundations. She has a broad list of medical publications, abstracts, and posters and has taught medical students and residents both in the United States and Germany. Dr. Stöppler was named a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Society in Germany and was a recipient of a Physician Scientist Award from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
An active medical journalist and writer, Dr. Stöppler currently serves on the Medical Editorial Board of MedicineNet.com, and is the Chief Medical Editor of eMedicineHealth.com, both WebMD Inc. companies. Her experience also includes translation and editing of medical texts in German and English. Dr. Stöppler's special interests in medicine include family health and fitness, patient education/empowerment, and molecular diagnostic pathology. She currently resides in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband their their three children.
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