What Is a Fart Walk and Why You Should Take It Tonight
The low-key post-dinner walk has a new name thanks to TikToker (mairlynthequeenoffiber) who got candid on camera about how a “fart walk” will help you “age wonderfully.” Her voiceover has been added to dozens of videos, both funny and heartfelt. But most importantly: the fart walk actually has health benefits, so you might want to try it, whether you call it that or not.
What is a fart walk?
A fart walk is a walk you take after eating. It gets its name for an obvious reason: after you eat, your bowels begin to move, which can sometimes feel like uncomfortable bloating. But exercises like walking can help relieve this feeling, while also providing some benefits to your metabolic health and increasing your daily and weekly exercise intake.
Farting walks may help relieve bloating
Exercise really helps reduce bloating. This has been known for a long time, but to really prove this point, researchers injected gas into people’s intestines (!) and then had them lie on their backs while pedaling with their feet, like on a bicycle. This type of pedaling helped reduce bloating compared to just resting. They concluded: “Light physical activity improves the elimination of gases from the intestines and reduces symptoms in patients complaining of bloating.”
Farting walks may help control glucose levels
After we eat, our digestive system releases glucose (blood sugar) into the bloodstream. This is normal and good, and then the hormone insulin should signal the cells in our body to store and use this sugar in the blood. Exercise helps control glucose levels, which is why all types of exercise—from walking to strength training— have long been recommended to prevent diabetes and manage symptoms if you already have it.
Exercising after meals can be especially beneficial. A 2018 systematic review found that exercising after meals helped people with type 2 diabetes improve glucose control. In conclusion, the authors recommended that people with this condition try to engage in moderate-intensity exercise (such as walking) for at least 45 minutes after their main meal.
However, the literature is not entirely clear whether exercise really needs to be done after a meal to be beneficial. The authors of a 2017 study on exercise timing and glucose control concluded that it is better to exercise briefly throughout the day than to exercise only once, whether after a meal or at another time.
It’s nice to get some exercise and talk, walk, fart or not.
In addition to the benefits for gut health and metabolism, you may find that you enjoy taking a walk after dinner. A 30-minute walk at least five times a week meets the minimum exercise guidelines we should all follow (but don’t forget to do some strength training as well).
Or, to put it another way, when you go out in the evening, you are participating in an Italian tradition called la passeggiata . As Becca Lewis writes there, “It’s about taking time to enjoy the quiet of your mind (if you’re walking alone) and connecting with others (if you’re walking with a partner or a group). It’s not a quick walk to get your heart rate up, but rather sightseeing and maybe stopping to enjoy a drink.” You don’t even have to tell anyone that you consider this your outing.