Abstract
Background: The pattern of bowel habits, as well as functional bowel disturbances tend to vary among different populations and is influenced by factors such as diet and body mass index. Assessing the bowel habits in a population will help to determine the normal defecatory pattern in that population and introduce lifestyle and dietary modifications to regularize bowel function,
Aims and Objectives: This study was conducted among the students of a tertiary care hospital in Kerala to study i) the bowel habits and subjective bowel disturbances among students.ii)study the association of factors such as body mass index and diet with the pattern of bowel habits in the same population.
Methods: Details were collected from 600 participants, regarding stool pattern, bowel symptoms and consumption frequency and amount of different food items. Height and weight was recorded and BMI calculated. Chi- square analysis was done for qualitative data.
Result: The predominant stool form was Bristol type 3 stool (sausage shaped stools with cracks on the surface) according to Bristol stool chart and the median stool frequency was 1-2 per day or 7-14 times per week. Water and vegetable consumption was associated with softer stool consistency. Consumption of vegetables was also associated with more frequent stool and less symptoms of abdominal discomfort. Consumption of chocolates was associated with hard stools while coffee consumption was associated with reduction in stool frequency. Increased milk consumption was associated with watery stool consistency.
Conclusion: Inclusion of more vegetables in diet, drinking adequate water and limiting the intake of coffee ,chocolates and milk will help to regularize bowel moments
Keywords: Diet, bowel, stool, water, vegetables.
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Corresponding Author
Dr Sajitha.N
Assistant Professor, Department of physiology, Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foundation, Venjaramoodu, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v8i3.112
