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Eating on the Run Isn't Bad for Your Health

May 4, 2013, 1:30 PM

What's the Latest Development? 

Popular folklore advises against eating on the go because it causes indigestion, contributing to discomfort and weight gain, but to ask medical professionals, you might think what your mother told you was not entirely accurate. "When you look at the causes of indigestion or functional dyspepsia, as it’s called in the medical literature, eating standing up doesn’t feature on the list. When likely causes such as stomach ulcers and gastritis have been ruled out, the management of dyspepsia can include changes to lifestyle, but this means eating a healthy diet, giving up smoking and reducing alcohol and coffee consumption. It doesn’t mean sitting down when you eat."

What's the Big Idea? 

Comparing fast eating to competitive eating yields some additional medical insight. Whereas you and I might feel ill after eating seven hotdogs in a row, competitive eaters eat upwards of twenty in one sitting. What this shows is that we have patterns when it comes to eating, and once disrupted, they can cause feelings of ill health. "So next time you don’t have time to sit down for lunch, then don’t feel too bad if you think you are wolfing down your meal too fast. As long as it doesn’t make you feel ill at the time, there doesn’t seem to be any harm in it."

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

Read it at BBC Future




Eating on the Run Isn't Bad...

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