AboveㅣSource: Clip Art Korea
“I ate a lot and my stomach stretched. That’s why I still overeat.”
“I didn’t eat well, so my stomach shrunk, so I can only eat a little.”
It is a story often heard by gluttons or news eaters. As they say, does the size of the stomach increase and then decrease depending on how much is eaten?
The stomach, which was the size of a cherry when you were a newborn, gets bigger as you grow. On an empty stomach, an adult’s stomach is about the size of his own two fists. Contrary to popular belief, however, the size of the stomach itself, the size of two fists, does not change regardless of food intake over a long period of time. Depending on whether food is ingested or not, the stomach temporarily relaxes or contracts. The volume of the stomach when there is no food in it is about 50 mL. When food enters the stomach, its capacity increases to 1.2 L for women and 1.4 L for men. In other words, when you eat food, your stomach swells, and when you’re hungry, it shrinks back to its original size.
The stomach is divided into three main parts. The upper part of the stomach, the ‘gastric base’, the body part, the ‘gastric body’, and the lower part, the ‘gastric antrum’. Haidak internal medicine consulting physician Seong Moon-hyeok (Seoul Internal Medicine Clinic) said, “When food first enters the stomach through the esophagus, the bottom of the stomach is a storehouse. It builds in. From the bottom of the stomach, the peristalsis of the stomach starts, and the food mixes well with the gastric juice.” Food is broken into small pieces by peristalsis and stomach acid, and eventually is digested in a porridge-like form.Since the small intestine cannot absorb food all at once, the stomach stores the porridge-like food and sends it out a little at a time into the small intestine.
The upper bottom is characterized by excellent elasticity. Director Seong explained, “There is a difference in degree from person to person, but the upper part of the stomach can increase significantly as food enters.” “Like a rubber bag, it expands when needed and then shrinks again when you’re hungry.” It takes three to four hours after a meal to send all the food in the stomach down to the small intestine, and at this time, the size of the stomach returns to its original state. Dr. Seong said, “The size of the stomach does not shrink and then increase by controlling diet. You can understand that the elastic stomach expands or contracts according to the amount of food eaten. “Because of this defect , it is more appropriate to gain weight,” he added.
Support = Haidaq Counseling Doctor Seong Moon-hyeok (Seoul Internal Medicine Specialist)
