Eating while Standing or Sitting – What you Should Choose?

Feb 11, 2024 By Nancy Miller

We are sure you have heard many people telling you to sit while eating. But today, we will be telling you why eating and standing and eating food might benefit you. It has become very typical now that everyone is busy grabbing a bite while standing or just walking. For some people, this might not be the right thing to do; however, according to recent studies, eating while standing is not as bad as everyone thinks.

If you find yourself eating while standing and want to know if this is the right thing to do or not and if it negatively impacts your health, this article has everything you need to know. So, let’s jump right into the article and have a look at this article.

What are the Benefits of Eating While Standing?

There are some significant health effects that your body might face when you are eating while standing. Below, we have mentioned some of the pros that you might get from eating when you are standing.

Speeds Up the Digestion:

The posture plays a very important role when you are eating and also affects the speed of the digestion of the food. The stomach might empty slowly if you are sitting or even lying down. If you are standing and walking around, then there is a high chance that you might digest your food faster.

There are no valid reasons why this might happen, but some studies say that this can be due to the effect of gravity. It is also seen that food such as protein digests faster and also increases the availability and absorption of amino acids.

Ease the Symptoms of Acid Reflux:

A lot of people suffer from acid reflux, burning in the chest, and even stomachache after they have eaten their food. This is why people suffering from such problems are suggested to walk or stand after eating. One of the reasons this happens is increased pressure in the stomach. When you are sitting or lying down, the pressure rises, and this causes the acid of the stomach to travel back to the esophagus, causing heartburn.

This is why it is suggested not to lie down immediately after eating; instead, go for a walk to relieve the pressure of food content in the stomach. Also, eating while standing can reduce the pressure and the chances of acid reflux.

Standing can Help Reduce the Belly Fat:

According to some studies it is seen that eating while standing can help you reduce belly fat. According to research, it is seen that standing can help burn calories, and this might have an impact on belly fat. Moreover, if you want to reduce your weight and belly fat, walking after eating is a better choice.

Some studies also found that eating and standing can impact the type of food you are eating. When eating while standing, people go towards the less messy food to eat and taste good. This reduces the options for eating, people find less food appealing, and automatically, this reduces the amount of food people intake.

What are the Cons of Eating While Standing?

Now that you have read some of the benefits you can get from eating and standing, you should also look at the disadvantages that might come with it.

Might Leave You Hungry:

There are some studies according to which it is said that eating while standing can make you feel hungry even after eating. This is because your mind can play tricks on you. The brain senses when you are hungry, according to the stomach, is being stretched. When you are standing, the food is digested quickly, and the stomach does not remain stretched anymore, this can make you hungry.

Thus, people who eat while standing can feel hungry much faster and consume food more often.

Can be the Cause of Bloating:

There can be many factors that can cause bloating when you are eating while standing. Food can travel faster through the digestive tract when standing, causing the gas to build up. It is also seen that when someone is eating while standing, they eat quicker, and this causes them to swallow, which can again cause bloating. Hence, eating while standing can cause discomfort because of bloating, gas, or cramps.

Can Lead to Overeating:

As mentioned above, eating while standing can leave you hungry. You might not feel that your stomach is complete, which will make you eat more and more. You might have more meals than usual in a short interval of time.

There are also chances that when you are eating and standing, you are working on something as well. When your focus is not on the food, this tricks your brain into thinking that you have not done it correctly, and you will feel hungry faster, leading to overeating.

Benefits of Eating While Sitting:

Eating while sitting is also a way to encourage mindful eating. Mindful eating means your attention is on food; you are chewing the food properly and letting your brain know that the body is digesting the food properly. When you are sitting and eating, it will enable the food to properly travel through the food track and make it easy to digest as well.

There are benefits of eating and standing, but eating while sitting is usually the best thing you can do for your health and body.

Conclusion:

Now that you have seen the benefits and disadvantages of eating and standing, you can easily conclude the answer. For some people, it might be easy to stand and eat because it can save them time, but it is not always the right thing. In the long run, it might have a negative impact on your body. Therefore, make a habit of mindful eating, which means you should relax and eat your food.