Roomate: Choking Hazard

My roommate went to the hospital last night because he got a piece of steak stuck in his esophagus. Apparently, his esophagus is much smaller than a normal person's and it must be stretched by an operation involving a big balloon. When asked why he didn't notice this before, he said "Well, I'd get something stuck there every once and a while, but it was only for a second or two. Oh, that's not normal? My parents said it was..." I guess it runs in the family.