# I don't get the walking after meals thing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680 "2010-06-10T17:47:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/1 "2010-06-10T17:47:40Z")
I’ve always been told that after a meal, I should go for a walk to help digestion. I don’t get that. The stomach is a mucousy bag of acid, how’s exercise going to help that digest better? Shouldn’t I just sit down and let the stomach do it’s thing? Also, I’ve heard conflicting things about eating late. Some people say that if you have a late dinner, like 9 or 10, then go to bed soon after, it won’t give your body time to process it and you’ll gain more weight as opposed to eating at 5 or 6, which gives your body time to digest the food and thus you’ll gain less weight But to me, that doesn’t make sense. Whether or not you eat early or late, you’re still doing the same amount of calorie burning right? If you eat late, you’re burning calories at 5 or 6 or 7, and if you eat early, you’re burning the same calories at 8 or 9 or 10. Does it matter when you eat as far as weight loss? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/2 "2010-06-10T18:02:49Z")
You’re right about eating late. You’ll get the same calories and nutrition regardless, however some people do experience more stomach upset, heartburn, etc… if they eat closer to when they go to bed, so there is that to consider. ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/3 "2010-06-10T18:10:13Z")
It’s easier to get away with a fart if you are walking. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/4 "2010-06-10T18:11:28Z")
The bouncing-up-and-down motion of walking helps stuff slosh around a bit, and aids in intestinal peristalsis. That’s my completely unscientific theory based solely on personal anecdote, and I’m sticking to it. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/5 "2010-06-10T18:38:39Z")
OP: Since you’ve been told stuff, you should turn to those who told you and ask them for proof. I’m just sayin’. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/6 "2010-06-10T18:45:03Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > OP: Since you’ve been told stuff, you should turn to those who told you and ask them for proof. > > I’m just sayin’. 😉 When I ask my wife about stuff like that (for instance, she’s a big believer in walking after supper), she just says that all Chinese people know that, and presumably a billion people can’t be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/7 "2010-06-10T19:06:34Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > It’s easier to get away with a fart if you are walking. … and _not_ while swimming. You may have solved an ancient mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/8 "2010-06-10T19:11:39Z")
I always look at it like this; If I’m just sitting around after a meal, my meal is also just sitting around in my stomach juices. If I’m walking my body is engaged and working so it starts processing more efficiently. I guess like the difference between idling your car and actually driving it. It might not make any difference, but it feels better for me. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/9 "2010-06-10T19:27:15Z")
Settles me down and lets me eat a big desert when I get back. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/10 "2010-06-10T21:03:19Z")
Because when you’re sitting upright in a chair after a meal - which is the usual alternative to taking a walk - your stomach is compressed. When you’re standing up, your expanded, food-filled stomach and intestines can work better. If you just stand around instead of moving, however, that’s bad for your legs and back. So you start walking - not power-walking or jogging, that’s heavy work, but slowly ambling. (Remember, the human body is not designed\* to be in any position, whether sitting, standing or lying, for a long time, you need to move and change your position). Second, digesting is hard work. Blood rushes down to help with it and carry off the nutrients - that’s why you feel drowsy and can’T do a lot of heavy thinking after a full meal. The different gall bladders (don’t know English terms exactly) produces their different juices to digest the proteins, fat and sugars by breaking them down into little parts that can be absorbed through the intestine wall into the blood, while your stomach produces acid to kill off bacteria and keep proper pH for the enzymes to work. Plus all the other stuff besides the big three groups that are in the food - vitamins, rare minerals, preservatives, chemicals, … Taking a slow walk (again, nothing strenous) helps keeping your circulation around, making it easier for the process than just sitting down, so all the blood flows down there, and has trouble coming back and going round. Third, your intestines (not the stomach) definitly need movement and fibers in your food to prevent colon cancer, as numerous medical studies have shown. What better time than after a meal\*\* to move that fiber stuff through your colon? Also, if you over-indulged a bit, walking burns a few calories, and so eases your conscience better than sitting around. (The effect of burning more calories that comes with increased circulation can last up to 2 hrs after you stopped walking, so even 30 min. is better than nothing. Note that I’m not claiming that 30 min. slow walk will burn off a huge steak with sauce plus a cream cake.) The only other good-for-your-body alternative is a siesta, where yo lie flat on your back, resting, so the body can concentrate on the digesting itself. You don’t battle with the natural drowsiness, or the low point in body rhythm between 12 and 4 pm, you accept it, ride it out and feel fresher after a lie-down or nap. (Just don’t overdo it). As for late-night snacks: while medical studies have apparently shown that you don’t put on more fat from calories eaten before bed, still many people have bad dreams from sleeping with a full stomach, or can’t go to sleep when the body is busy digesting (a nap is different from night sleep). And the danger of stomach-burn is not good - you can get cancer in the throat from all that acid. The standard advice for treating stomach-burn is: stop eating late, and sleep with an elevated pillow (and avoid stress, best by using bio-feedback methods or similar). - Yes, I know nature evolved and was not designed; I mean as a shorthand for “the forces of natural selection formed this body over time” \*\* Yes I know that the full digestion cycle can take up to 24 hrs, because food hangs around in the stomach itself for 2-4 hrs alone, then the small and large intestine. Still, at least you’re thinking of it now. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/11 "2010-06-10T22:19:17Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Settles me down and lets me eat a big desert when I get back. I find that idea really quit UNsettling. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/12 "2010-06-10T22:54:18Z")
Do an experiment. Get two bowls, put some acid in both, then dump a bunch of food on top. Stir one for 10 minutes, leave the other sitting there. See which one looks more digested… ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/13 "2010-06-10T22:59:04Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > When I ask my wife about stuff like that (for instance, she’s a big believer in walking after supper), she just says that all Chinese people know that, and presumably a billion people can’t be wrong. Ask her how she knows what “all Chinese people” know. Does she personally know one billion Chinese? Can she probe their minds? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/14 "2010-06-10T23:49:29Z")
Have medical studies confirmed any benefit to walking after eating? Certainly, one can spin just-so stories that seem plausibly to explain it (as well as for the opposite, I should think), but what does the actual evidence indicate? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/15 "2010-06-11T00:06:03Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Ask her how she knows what “all Chinese people” know. Does she personally know one billion Chinese? Can she probe their minds? Rumor has it they don’t give a shit, but I wouldn’t know. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/16 "2010-06-11T13:00:25Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Ask her how she knows what “all Chinese people” know. Does she personally know one billion Chinese? Can she probe their minds? All Chinese people know that all Chinese people know that. (Warning: infinite loop.) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/17 "2010-06-11T13:17:08Z")
Eating late helps me lose weight. It’s not because of any biological processes. It just means that I managed to eat less that day. I like to have a late evening snack. If I push dinner back far enough, it takes the place of that snack as well of being the regular meal and my total intake is reduced. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-walking-after-meals-thing/542680/18 "2010-06-11T14:00:36Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > You’re right about eating late. You’ll get the same calories and nutrition regardless … [Actually](http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162922.php) when you eat _does_ matter. > [@](#): > > A Northwestern University study has found that eating at irregular times – the equivalent of the middle of the night for humans, when the body wants to sleep – influences weight gain. The regulation of energy by the body’s circadian rhythms may play a significant role. … One might think that the same number of calories in and the same out will equal same weight gain or loss - but in many ways that turns out not to be true.