From Poolandspa.com News
Online Newsletter
April 2011
Las Vegas, NV USA

Myth busters to the rescue!  For decades, countless numbers of children worldwide have been forced to sit next to the swimming pool, having been told that if they go in the pool water less than a half hour after eating, that they would suffer horrible cramps and possibly drown.

Hard to tell when this old wives' tale was invented, or why......but a new study by the American Academy Of Pediatrics and the American Red Cross exposes the facts that there are no known side-effects to jumping right into a pool, lake or ocean immediately after eating food.  Neither agency makes any specific recommendations about any "waiting time" after eating before taking a dip.

One publication reports that "there has never been a single reported drowning incident linked to cramps brought on by swimming too soon after eating". 

CBC Health News reports that "Contrary to a long-standing tradition, you don't need to wait for one full hour after eating before heading into the pool".  Parents often tell their children to wait 30 minutes or one hour after having a heavy meal before they swim. The advice that has been handed down over generations doesn't hold water, said Dr. Richard Fedorak, head of gastroenterology at the University of Alberta Hospital.

"That's a myth, and we need to myth bust," said Fedorak.  The details of the old wives' tale is based on the mistaken idea that the stomach will take away some of the oxygen needed by our muscles during swimming. In reality, people have more than enough oxygen to supply both the stomach and their skeletal muscles.

It is therefore unlikely that diving into the water soon after a meal will leave someone in so much distress that they drown. "The simple average meal isn't going to affect your ability to get into the water," Fedorak assured.

Competitive swimmers, though, generally shouldn't eat a large meal before an event because there's a risk the cramps could hinder their performance. But the average kid playing in a home swimming pool would not have similar problems.

While eating is OK before a swim, drinking alcohol is not advisable. A study published in the Journal Of Pediatrics found one-quarter of teenagers who drowned were intoxicated. A similar study on adults found 41 per cent of drowning deaths involved alcohol.

Thanks to all the Myth Busters, for helping to shut up those noisy kids at every pool party and barbeque cookout !

This will be a welcome relief to the millions of nagging kids worldwide who just cannot wait those painful 30 minutes between eating and swimming!