Dietary habits and eating related symptoms were studied by one week recording method in thirteen successive out-patients attending the routine control following total gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y reconstruction for carcinoma of the stomach. All the patients except one had daily eating related symptoms such as difficulties in swallowing or/and rapid filling of the stomach, or/and discomfort, meteorism and pain, or/and nausea, faintness, sweating and rapid pulse. The number of daily meals was high (eight to fifteen) and the amounts of food eaten small, consisting of one sandwich, or one fruit, or one glass of milk, especially in those patients with most symptoms and most frequent meals. The daily intake of energy (7.4 +/- 2.0 and 6.8 +/- 1.5 MJ in the males and females, respectively) and nutrients was low, and there were no differences between the daily energy intakes by the patients with eight or fifteen daily meals. Thus, it is concluded that in the out-patients following total gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y reconstruction for carcinoma of the stomach, the symptoms related to eating are common and frequent, what causes the high number of daily meals and decreases the quality of life of the patients. The meals of the patients are simple and the patients are prone to a reduced nutritional state due to the low intake of energy and nutrients.