First, let’s take a look at our stomach. We can actually imagine the stomach as a large bag, a bag with good elasticity. The size of this bag varies due to differences in age, gender, and health among individuals. It has good stretchability. Basically, when we are fasting, the stomach’s volume is about 100 milliliters, and if we eat a lot and feel full, the size of the stomach is approximately 1000 milliliters, ten times larger. From this perspective, it does seem that the stomach can get bigger the more we eat. However, the question everyone is asking is not this; it is whether the maximum capacity of the stomach will get larger with increased eating.
In fact, our stomach does not stretch larger with overeating or shrink smaller with hunger. Our stomach function is very powerful, and the muscular tissue on its surface is also very resilient. Overeating does not lead to an increase in the stomach’s volume, and the gastric acid in our stomach is also very strong.
Under the action of gastric acid, the food we ingest is also quickly broken down into nutrients that can be absorbed by the intestines. Therefore, our stomach does not expand as the amount of food increases; if it did, we would suffer significant discomfort that we cannot endure.
So, let’s address why some people eat more and more. This is actually related to our body and physiology to a certain extent. Psychologically, we won’t discuss that much; it can feel like if I ate a lot in the first meal, then if I don’t eat more the next day, I won’t feel like I ate. This is primarily due to a psychological issue—the amount one eats may increase, but the size of the stomach does not grow larger.
Moreover, sometimes this is also closely linked to the stomach’s response ability, which is its capacity to hold. The capacity of the stomach can change and gradually increase as the amount of food consumed increases. However, this does not mean that eating more causes the stomach to stretch, so we don’t need to worry too much.
Then why, over time, does our food intake decrease? Is it that the stomach shrinks from hunger? In fact, this has nothing to do with the stomach; our digestive capacity gradually diminishes and worsens with age. We notice that in our teenage years, especially around seventeen or eighteen, we can eat quite a bit in one meal, but as we gradually reach our twenties, we are no longer able to eat as much. This is partly because our bodies have stopped growing and no longer require as much nourishment, and partly because we start to care about our figures and deliberately reduce our portion sizes to maintain a good physique.
