You may have eaten in a standing position because you have to, or maybe it is a habit. Some party events are often held without a seat or are usually called standing parties.
But did you know that eating while standing can harm your health?
Here's a list of the harmful effects of eating while standing that should be avoided:
Disturbing the digestive system
from Medical News Today, eating while standing can make the stomach empty the contents of the stomach faster than eating while sitting. It may be related to gravity. When this happens, it will give the stomach little time to break down the substances in the food, so the nutrients that are digested and absorbed by the intestines are not optimal.
It Makes you feel hungrier
Your body has several ways to determine whether you are hungry or full. One is to judge how much food is in the stomach. When your stomach stretches after eating, that information will be sent to the brain to determine whether you are full or not.
The more your stomach stretches and the longer it stays full, the less likely you are to feel hungry.
That's why foods that are digested quickly, such as refined carbohydrates, tend to make you hungrier than foods that take longer to digest, such as fiber and protein.
While there isn't much difference in digestion speed between eating while sitting or standing, the difference will be significant when considering movement. Moving right after eating will cause your stomach to empty and your intestines to digest food up to 30 percent faster.
Also Read: Benefits of Sitting on the Floor when Eating like Indonesians and Japanese
Research has linked faster stomach emptying with increased feelings of hunger after eating. Thus, those who eat while standing and walking are likely to feel hungry again more quickly after eating than people who eat in a sitting position. This hunger will encourage you always to eat. And overeating will increase the risk of obesity to diabetes.
Makes You Overeat
According to Health Line, although standing can burn about 50 more calories per hour than sitting, it's not necessarily enough to make a difference over time. That's because most people eat food relatively quickly when eating standing up.
So in the best-case scenario, eating food while standing can help you burn about 12-25 extra calories.
In contrast, eating while sitting is more likely to reduce the speed of eating, potentially reducing the number of calories consumed to a greater extent.
Some research shows that eating more slowly can reduce appetite and increase feelings of fullness, reducing the total number of calories consumed during a meal. This condition can result in up to 88 fewer calories eaten per meal. Thus, eating while sitting can be beneficial in reducing the risk of obesity to diabetes mellitus.
Causes flatulence
In some cases, they were eating while standing can cause flatulence problems. Everyone can indeed experience flatulence from undigested carbohydrates. However, two groups of people are more likely to experience this discomfort: those who are lactose intolerant or sensitive to fermentable oligo, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP).
See also: Healthier Than Using a Spoon, this is the Benefits of Eating with bare Hands.
FODMAPs are a class of foods that can cause bloating. People who eat quickly or walk around during or immediately after eating can digest food up to 30 percent faster. That can increase the chances of poor digestion of carbohydrates and cause flatulence. Meanwhile, flatulence can cause discomfort throughout the day.
Choking
Eating and drinking while standing, especially in a hurry, can make you choke. Although it looks simple, choking can still trigger dangerous, life-threatening complications. Therefore, eating while standing is recommended only under certain conditions.
For example, for people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), eating while standing is believed to help reduce reflux and heartburn.
When stomach contents back into the esophagus, this is called gastroesophageal reflux. That can cause a burning feeling in the center of the chest and heartburn. Those with reflux are often advised to stand up straight and avoid lying down or slouching several hours after eating.
This is important because lying down or slouching increases pressure in the stomach, making it more likely that food will be pushed back into the esophagus. Reflux is also more likely if too much food is in the stomach. This puts pressure on the valve that separates the esophagus from the stomach, increasing the chance that the stomach contents will back up. Interestingly, eating while sitting up straight or standing can reduce pressure on the stomach, reducing the chances of reflux.
Damage the kidneys
Eating while standing can prevent the food from undergoing the normal grinding process by the digestive organs.
As a result, nutrient absorption is hampered. It causes the kidneys to work hard to process water to support the process of destroying the food consumed.
See also: Did Drinking while standing is safe or dangerous?
This condition can increase the risk of a person experiencing kidney problems, can experience irritation, fatigue, and decreased performance.