How long after a meal is it best to exercise?

Exercise is something we must do every day, but some people cannot choose the time to exercise. For example, white-collar workers basically have no specific time to exercise. They usually choose to exercise after dinner after work. Many people start exercising without eating, which is not good for the body. Exercise should be done after meals. So how long after a meal is it best to exercise? The editor tells you.

Is it good to exercise after a meal?

It is best to exercise one hour after a meal. Many people exercise or run immediately after eating, but this is actually not advisable. Running or exercising after a meal will reduce the amount of digestive fluid secreted by our gastrointestinal tract, which may lead to indigestion.

If a mixed meal is ingested, it may take four hours or more for the stomach to completely empty, and even a liquid meal may take about an hour.

Therefore, the stomach will feel heavier after a meal, and even slight exercise will cause the stomach to vibrate. Generally, you should wait at least half an hour before engaging in light exercise. If you engage in strenuous activity, the interval should be longer, such as 2 hours.

1. After a meal, the stomach is full of food, and the gastrointestinal tract vibrates during exercise, causing the mesentery connecting the gastrointestinal tract to be stretched, causing abdominal pain.

2. Exercising after meals will cause blood distribution to shift to skeletal muscles, leading to ischemia of the digestive tract and causing abdominal pain.

3. During exercise, the body's oxygen demand increases. People who lack exercise usually have small lung capacity, so when they try to breathe hard, they are likely to have shallow and rapid breathing. This reduces the negative pressure in the chest cavity, causing obstruction of blood return to the liver, which leads to liver congestion and increased tension in the liver capsule, causing liver pain, which manifests as pain in the right upper abdomen.

4. Other gastrointestinal diseases, including appendicitis, happen to occur during exercise after a meal.

Exercise can help digestion. If you feel unwell, you should pay attention and rest. It is best not to exercise for the time being. You can take a walk or do some gymnastics slowly. For white-collar workers, you can also do leg exercises while sitting at work, which will help to slim down your legs.