It's never been a question in my family! If you feel up to a swim, go for it.

Interesting and love your mother story.

@Islay Corbel - It was probably a Jewish thing. My non-Jewish friends could eat a BLT and jump in the pool before they swallowed the last bite.

I do recall my mom wanting us to wait 30 minutes. She just thought getting back in the pool might make us uncomfortable but nothing dangerous.

I dunno. My mother said an hour. It had been an hour at least one day, when I was about 14. We were on vacation. The pool was pretty crowded. I could feel my lunch in my stomach achieving buoyancy. I was able, at least, to, um, lean over the coping, and not spoil everyone's day, but ewww,

That chart looks more like the ones about how long it takes to move from your stomach. Which may be the point, and a BLT might do that a lot better than a steak. Starches are quick, complex carbs longer, heavy proteins significantly longer with fats the longest, IIRC.

And that's likely the answer! Most of the time, your body does its thing and swimming while digesting, like running while digesting, isn't an issue at least at a recreational level. But if your lunch starts to float, it's probably going to come all the way up. I've never before or since had that happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if that kind of thing is the origin of what old fashioned Moms knew that learned scientists don't,

Well, that would make a mess in the swimming pool but I don't actually know of anyone who had any kind of cramps or digestive issues while swimming after eating. I had the only in ground pool in town and of the dozens of kids who would eat pizza or chips or ham sandwiches or cookies at my house and jump into the pool none of them ever had an issue. And I would have known, because I was the one who always cleaned the pool. And, of course, that laughing doctor who said sunburn was a far bigger hazard.

Annie

Well, I posted, but it is not here????

Nope. Sherry, sometimes there's a 'net error and things disappear, and sometimes, maybe randomly, a post will not show up, than appear hours later.

I agree about the whole 'you'll get cramps if you swim too soon after eating' being proven false - however, if you have a very full stomach and you do something very strenuous, I think it's possible you can get a cramp, but it doesn't have to be just from swimming.

And I think how long things stay in your stomach also has to do with how thoroughly you chew your food. Saliva is part of the digestive process too, so chewing thoroughly is helping food digest too. Not everybody does that - especially little ones who may not have all their teeth yet - or older ones who don't have as many as before.

Hm... I don't know about cramps. That does seem unlikely without an underlying problem. I've enountered others who've puked, though.

My mother always said 1 hour--many, many years ago.

You sure don’t want your lunch to achieve buoyancy!

I don’t swim, hardly, but you can eat and immediately go skiing, and you can also eat while riding a bike, so zero minutes seems to apply for those activities. On the other hand, for skydiving, I think it is best to wait about 37 million minutes after your last meal.

John, I absolutely agree. No skydiving for me, I'm pretty sure I'd vomit!

Annie

Ricky - you might want to wait several hours after eating one of your cookies!

Growing up summers at the Russian River, all the moms did the 1 hour thing!(gave them an hour to themselves!) Having gone to the National Aquatic School, you can cramp up just as easily with an empty stomach as you can with a full stomach. Moderation is the key!

We used to spend our three weeks a year vacation, we're retired now, scuba diving off yachts. (Called live-aboards. Often not docking on land for 3-4 days at a time). One hour between dives.....but...the best part...the cook on board, makes treats to eat while your waiting. Home made brownies! Oatmeal-applesauce-raisin cookies! Chocolate-chip cookies! YUM!

no, that is all just nonsense. However, if one were to indulge in a large meal and then run a marathon or some such, I can see how that might cause problems.

But I would worry much about swimming, however , diving as nicole talked of seems to be an entirely different thing.