Do You Really Need to Wait 30 Minutes After Eating Before Swimming?

For generations, parents have terrified kids with one of the most infamous childhood warnings: “Wait 30 minutes after you eat before swimming—or you’ll drown.” But it turns out, that age-old warning is nothing more than a soggy myth.

Yep, there’s no scientific reason to sit poolside in hunger-fueled purgatory. According to modern experts (and common sense), eating before swimming doesn’t actually increase your risk of drowning at all.

So Where Did This Myth Come From?

Blame the Boy Scouts. The first known mention popped up in the 1908 manual Scouting for Boys, written by scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell. He warned that swimming right after a meal could “double you up” with cramps and cause drowning—a theory that stuck like pool water in your ears.

Fast forward to today . . . Where one physician, named Dr. Matthew Badgett, who was also a competitive swimmer, recalled how he had to eat before early-morning swim practice or else he’d be “dragging.”

Myth Debunked

To drive it home, the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council debunked the myth back in 2011. After reviewing the evidence, they concluded that eating before swimming “is not a contributing risk for drowning” and should be dismissed as pure fiction.

They confirmed that again last year, too.

Ironically, the cramp warning flies in the face of everything parents encourage when it comes to other sports. Ever been told to eat before soccer practice or a big game to avoid fatigue and—yep—cramps? Exactly.

So go ahead and enjoy that hot dog before cannonballing into the deep end. Just maybe don’t eat nine hot dogs.