Health. Eating less makes your stomach shrink: fact or fiction?

Shaped like a J, the stomach is part of our digestive system. One of its special features? This flexible organ is somewhat extensible. In other words, the muscles that make up its wall are capable of stretching to accommodate the food bolus. Then, in the absence of food, they contract and tighten.

Like a sock

On her Instagram account, gastroenterologist Dr. Pauline Guillouche uses the example of a sock: it inflates when you put your foot inside and shrinks when you take it off. This is also a way of saying that the original size—of the sock—is not changed.

This is essentially what she wanted to clarify in a post last May: "When your stomach is empty, it takes up less space. But as soon as you fill it, it unfolds to return to its normal shape. This process is easily carried out without the stomach being permanently affected."

Misconception

So, no, your stomach does not shrink as a result of a restrictive diet or after a period of eating less; for example, if you were sick. For Dr. Guillouche, the confusion stems from this fact: "when you are sick, you eat less," she explains.

“We feel full faster. But it's not because our stomach has shrunk. It's simply due to a loss of appetite. Because in reality, your stomach is still just as big and ready to fill up again.”

Sources: Dr. Pauline Guillouche's Instagram account (@pauline.hepato) – Canadian Cancer Society