Children cool off at the Hamilton Fish pool July 18, 2017, in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.
A former high school swimmer, Badgett used to eat a couple of bananas and drink some water or Gatorade before he raced.
He worries that the old warning can actually cause complications.
It's important to quench your thirst before swimming, especially on sunny days. People often don't realize they can still get dehydrated, which can lead to muscle cramps.
"We sweat when we are in the water, we just don't appreciate the water loss," he said.
A new initiative to monitor swimmers and sharks on New York City beaches with surveillance drones is bringing a backlash from shorebirds. City officials say the drones had been repeatedly swarmed by birds that have forced pilots to ground the devices on several occasions since the program launched in May. The city is now avoiding known nesting areas, but the attacks have not stopped. Wildlife experts cautioned the drones could provoke a stress response in the birds forcing them to abandon their nests. Attacks have mostly been carried out by American oystercatchers. The beach is also home to piping plovers, a federally designated endangered species.
So, jumping in the pool or ocean after eating is no big deal for recreational swimming. But people planning to swim laps or exercise may want to let their food digest to avoid cramps, just like they'd wait before jogging.
Also, swimming after tossing back a few beers is risky. People tend to be more aggressive, less coordinated and prone to bad choices when they swim after consuming alcohol.
Those factors all can cause problems when dealing with strong currents or ocean tides at the beach this summer.
"You're just not going to be as sharp," Badgett said.
According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over 70% of freshwater lakes, ponds, reservoirs, and wetlands (by acreage) and over 42% of creeks, rivers, and streams (by mileage) are considered too polluted for primary contact recreation, such as swimming. On average, there are nearly 35,000 waterborne illness cases caused by recreational water use in the U.S. every year. In order to determine the states with the worst water quality for swimming, researchers calculated the percentage of total acreage or mileage of assessed, untreated waters that were too polluted for swimming.
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Children cool off at the Hamilton Fish pool July 18, 2017, in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.
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