Scientists reveal exactly how often 'generally healthy' people should be pooping

Experts have advised on the ideal number of bowel movements that you should be having each day.

The study from 2024 examined 1,425 participants and looked at how long people in the group were spending in the bathroom each day.

It might not be the easiest topic to talk about, but bowel movements are actually a really helpful way to check on other parts of your health as well.

ISB microbiologist Sean Gibbons was an author on the report, and said: "This study shows how bowel movement frequency can influence all body systems, and how aberrant bowel movement frequency may be an important risk factor in the development of chronic diseases."

He added: "These insights could inform strategies for managing bowel movement frequency, even in healthy populations, to optimize health and wellness."

How often should you be going to the toilet (d3sign/Getty)

But how did the report work?

Well, researchers examined how often people had bowel movements, and then compared this to other data such as general health, genetics, and demographics.

From there they were able to look at the people who were classed as the healthiest in the study, and get a 'Goldilocks zone' of pooping.

In this case 'healthy' indicated that someone did not have any history of gut problems or kidney problems, for example Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or kidney disease.

People taking part had to self-report on how often they were going to the toilet.

Overall, people with no history of gut-related health conditions reported having a bowel movement about once or twice a day.

This was the ideal rate, but if someone doesn't go very often, or goes too much, then this could be a sign that something is not right.

Researchers on the team sorted participants into four categories.

These included people who went to the bathroom once or twice a week, which they described as constipated.

They arranged people into four categories (Yana Iskayeva/Getty)

Then there was low-normal at three to six visits a week, high normal for between one and three a day.

Finally, there was four or more visits a day, and people reporting a watery stool, which was of course called diarrhoea.

But what did the study find?

The data indicated that people who didn't go so often on the whole were women, younger, and had a lower BMI score, however even with this included if someone scored outside the central 'normal' range then this was an indication of some sort of health condition.

It's not just 'number two' either, as there is also an ideal amount that you should be peeing every day too, and things might also change depending on what stage of life someone is at.

So there you go - around once or twice a day is good, but you'll still fall into the 'normal' range if you miss a day.

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