Researchers in Australia are urging the public to “let one rip.”
A new community science project from Australia’s national science agency CSIRO is recruiting members of the public to track their “flatulence data” to help researchers better understand gut health nationwide.
They made it easy — and private — with a simple mobile app called Chart Your Fart that allows users to do exactly as the name suggests.
CSIRO research dietitian Megan Rebuli said that while some can find farts embarrassing and uncomfortable (or perhaps, comedic fodder), “healthy bodies are meant to let them go.”
“Passing wind is a natural occurrence and a sign that our digestive system is working as it should, to expel excess gas that is produced from breaking down and processing the food we eat,” Rebuli said in a statement.
That natural occurrence, however, does happen more often for some. A 2021 CSIRO gut health study found that over 60% of Australians reported experiencing “excessive flatulence,” with up to 43% reportedly experiencing it most days.
The Chart Your Fart app asks people aged 14 and older to track their gas for at least three days in total to provide researchers like Rebuli with the data to better understand the “frequency and characteristics” of the gut health symptom.
In fact, app users are asked to track the “quantity” and “quality” of their flatulence, also marking attributes like stench, loudness, duration, linger, and detectability.
“Talking about diet often leads into discussion about the other end of eating,” Rebuli continued. “Different foods, medical conditions, or even the way we chew, or swallow can have an impact on how our body processes the excess gas, leading to different smells, frequency or even volume.”
Ultimately, the data compiled will help create a chart of what “normal” flatulence may look like among different groups of the population.
According to Rebuli, the average person typically passes wind between seven and 20 times a day, though it varies on the types of food people eat, how much fiber they’re taking in, and plenty of other factors.
“This is the big question – what is normal?” she told The Guardian. “We really want to get some good quality, comprehensive data to try to pin down that number.”
And there’s no research method quite as dependable as simply asking people to talk about their toots.
“Research is only as good as the data we have, and we want to work with as much of our diverse Australian community as we can to drive innovation in health and wellbeing research and deliver meaningful outcomes,” the project’s lead and CSIRO behavioral scientist Dr. Emily Brindal said.
“We want to showcase the potential of public-led research and ask the community to come on board with shaping our future health and wellbeing science.”
An approach like this enables people to feel comfortable enough to bring personal experience and observations to the table, better informing research — and ideally, improving health outcomes for all.
“We rely on the public to share their experience with us for so much of our health and wellbeing research, but we also want to hear what research the community wants us to do,” Brindle continued.
“It is about keeping it real and relevant, but why not have some fun too?”
Header image courtesy of CSIRO
