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Mathematical equation for poop size

Posted 12.15.2003 by Dave
G Ras made a suprising cameo appearance in the forums to post this gem. Apparently, some scientists (or, at least the people who answer questions on New Scientist.com without providing any credentials) think they have an equation for predicting poop size.

You can't really argue with this equation. But you really can't prove it either -- to find the individually-variable constants, you'd have to measure the in and out of a person's bowels, and predict from there. And that's kinda circular -- you can only use this equation to predict bowel movement size in people who you've analyzed to find the patterns of their bowel movement size.
===============

Faeces weight = Wf(1 + Hf) + Wb (1 + Hb) + Wm(1 + Hm)

Where Wf, Wb and Wm are respectively the dry weights of fibre remaining after fermentation in the colon, bacteria present in the faeces and osmotically active metabolites and other substances in the colon which could reduce the amount of free water absorbed, and Hf, Hb and Hm denote their respective water-holding capacities.


Show some poop support, or make a poop retort.
Lame comment! -1 point
healthy 1 (1430) -- 10.15.2006

The normal weight of poop is 9oz, 20% of that weight is intestinal bacteria.

I will try to predict the size of my next poop. I predict it will be nine inches long and 1.5 inches thick. Let's see how close I am.
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It's not nice to fool mother nature.

Dave (11987) -- 10.15.2006

The normal weight of poop is 9oz, 20% of that weight is intestinal bacteria.

Where do you get that? I've done a lot of research on this, and haven't found anything conclusive. I've settled on a half pound of poop per person per day, but that's an educated guess.

(Furthermore, it's misleading to suggest that there's an "average" size for poop. It various wildly from person to person, based on their diet, metabolism, and environment. I use a half-pound per person as the individual's average share of the society's total daily poop production.)

runninggrrl2 (233) -- 10.15.2006

I think I fall outside your average, Dave. I KNOW I make more than a half pound per day. This is an interesting formula, but it would probably work better for say, dogs who are being fed a constant diet of dry kibble for several days. Human diet, not to mention differences in GI tract speed, enzyme production differences that can lead to more or less undigested material, etc. is just too variable to predict much of anything. Although, this could be cool...find out what foods you should eat to make the largest poop you can. I'm guessing things like bran, oatmeal, vegetables...high fiber foods.

The 20% of the weight being bacteria is a fairly close estimate, but it can vary depending on how long the poo is in the large intestine. If it's not there long, there won't be as many bacteria present. Trust me, I see this stuff all the time, I'm a microbiologist ;)


_______
An apple a day keeps the ExLax away!

healthy 1 (1430) -- 10.16.2006

I did come close with my prediction. My poop was 8.5 inches long and 1.5 inches thick this morning.

I Googled that info. I'll try to find the site, I should have copied the info. I totally agree that there is no set weight of a bowel movement.

I was not trying to say that there is an average size to poop, just an average weight.

Let's see how this theory proves out, in the mean time, I'll try to dig up that website.

_______
It's not nice to fool mother nature.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) -- 10.19.2006

hello,
my comment is that lately i have been eating a low carb diet, not to the extream about 120 carbs a day. Anyways my bowel movements are so large it scares me. They are long about 12 inches and thick in tubular size.I have had a health bowel history. Just wondering perhaps i will lose some more weight.Tell me if normal texture but huge in size is okay

GottaGoGirl (2615) -- 12.15.2006

Anonymous Coward wrote: "Tell me if normal texture but huge in size is okay".

Okay in my book!

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"NEVER. ENOUGH. BACON!"--GoBoy

The Big Wiper (2292) -- 12.15.2006

That equation looks like science fiction, something Klaatu would have written on Sam Jaffee's blackboard in the film, "The Day The Earth Stood Still." I'm wondering if an equation for poop size really belongs in quantum mechanics. BTW, I got a D+ in Calculus. Just not my thing.
_______
Pulling My Pants Down For Peace, Plop and Posterity!

DungDaddy (1465) -- 12.15.2006

I like it. Now I just need to get equipment installed to measure fermentation rates and bacteria population.

The Thunderous ... (741) -- 12.15.2006

I would like to know how much those big balls of shit weigh when I take a crap. But that would involve messing up a scale and that would just be plain gross.

Lame comment!
dutch-oven_surprise (not verified) -- 10.16.2007

What the hell! You guys just sit around all day and talk about feeding shitsharks???

Great comment! +1 point
Artful Dodger (394) -- 10.16.2007

Now we're going to sit around and talk about feeding YOU to the shitsharks.

Deja Poo (1053) -- 10.16.2007

This formula makes no sense to me. In plain English, this formula states that the weight of your turds is a function of fiber, bacteria and metabolites. Well, I'm no shit expert, but what about the "undigested corn" factor??? It's certainly not bacteria. It can't be metabolites, because it hasn't been metabolized. And although corn contains fiber, this is still "undigested" fiber and (probably) won't hold any more fluids than it had when it came in. Unless you eat "feed" grain, in which case, you're a cow and not a human being.

Furthermore, the water-holding factors all assume that, no matter the composition of the fiber, the bacteria or the metabolites, their respective abilities to hold water remain constant. This only makes sense if there's one type of each and that they are fully saturated.

I suppose that if this formula were used only for approximations, it might be useful. However, I wouldn't rely on it too much.

Besides, how would you break your turds down into these constituent components so that you could get an accurate measurement? Hopefully, not with a centrifuge. If the lid should come off during the separation process, you've got an instant poo spirograph for your room.

Now, if you really want to guess what the average size of your poop is, I would recommend that you crap into a graduated cylinder and record the displacement (either in liters or grams). Do this for a year. Compute the weight and then divide by the number of sessions.

Voila! The next time you set on the pot, your turd will weigh approximately that amount.

(BTW, this technique is really only accurate if the preponderance of your poop is floaters and/or diarrhea. It's less accurate if your poop is usually a sinker, although you can figure out the minimum weight (and density) of your average shit.)

A word of warning! People who have a hard time keeping their balance, especially while squatting, should probably not do this. If you slip and fall with a glass beaker under your ass, you're going to have explain to the entire Emergency Room staff how you managed to get a circular laceration on your shitbox while they're stitching you up.
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Yo quiero Taco Bell.

Deja Poo (1053) -- 10.16.2007

Jeezus! Do I have to be long-winded about everything?!?
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Yo quiero Taco Bell.

Artful Dodger (394) -- 10.16.2007

Apparently.

RoboCrap13 (446) -- 10.16.2007

Hey DP, the next time you're 'long winded', could please use the air freshener?
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You have the right to remain Silent but Deadly....

vegetarian pooper (25) -- 12.14.2008


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I like poop coming out as much as food coming in

I actualy poop alot and I dump a pound or 2 every night,I even get on the scale when im done

Anonymous Coward (not verified) -- 07.12.2009

Or you could step on a scale weigh yourself at 165 take a dump get back on the scale and weigh 159.... true story

Anonymous Coward (not verified) -- 07.14.2009

don't get it

poop is good (not verified) -- 08.27.2009

A few days ago i was at barns nnoble. and my cousin said she was gona take a big one. and we weighed it in the bathroom because there is a baby weigher for the babies..and it was 12 pounds...fml

Postman (837) -- 08.28.2009

Yeah, sure it was.

ChiefThunderbutt (3060) -- 08.28.2009

poop is good.....I'm not sure about your cousin but I think you're full of shit.


_______
Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

sittingpretty (2394) -- 08.28.2009

poop is good, that scale was broken, obviously.
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...And their flesh like dung. Zeph. 1:17

prarie doggin (4011) -- 08.28.2009

Yeah and beside, those baby weighers have a large sharp hook which I'm sure would have just torn through the dook.

sittingpretty (2394) -- 08.28.2009

That was gross, the idea of fishing a big turd out of a public toilet.
_______
...And their flesh like dung. Zeph. 1:17

prarie doggin (4011) -- 08.28.2009

So a baby being weighed by a meat hook wasn't gross?

sittingpretty (2394) -- 08.28.2009

Oh yeah, a baby being weighed by a meat hook is terrrible. Just terrible.
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...And their flesh like dung. Zeph. 1:17

Bilgepump (2849) -- 08.28.2009

No, its pretty easy, really, just hook 'em in the back of the neck, just below the skull.
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The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

sittingpretty (2394) -- 08.28.2009

Awe Bilgepump, you really know how to bring a thought home. Horrible mental picture. Just horrible.
_______
...And their flesh like dung. Zeph. 1:17

Bilgepump (2849) -- 08.28.2009

Oh relax, there Super Freak....they stop wiggling after a while.


_______

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

sittingpretty (2394) -- 08.28.2009

Agh! That's terrible Bilge!! Just terrible!!I know you can't help it as it comes to naturally.
_______
...And their flesh like dung. Zeph. 1:17

Bilgepump (2849) -- 08.28.2009

make up your mind, for goodness sake, I'm getting confused...is it horrible or terrible?
_______

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

sittingpretty (2394) -- 08.28.2009

It is horribly terrible or it is terribly horrible. So it is terrible and horrible. It is atrocious!
______
...And their flesh like dung. Zeph. 1:17

Bilgepump (2849) -- 08.28.2009

Now its atrocious...my head is spinning.

Sort of like that baby hanging from a meat hook in a stiff breeze.

_______

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) -- 09.01.2009

Its easy to get a rough calculation...thats what bathroom scales are for weigh yourself before and after take the difference and there ya go...course like as not some of that is Pee Weight but figuring it would take a pint of Pee roughly to equal one pound it should be pretty easy to see that the mass of the mass is poo.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) -- 12.10.2009

You could just weigh yourself before you poop and weight yourself after, a fairly accurate measure as to how much your poop weighed.

Mathew (not verified) -- 01.27.2010

Lets end this debate. here is a real statistic with citation:

The mean of the average weights of stool per week in 23 reports was 843g/week, with a range of 392-1330 g/week.

pg 2358 "A comparison of Stool Characteristics from Normal and Constipated People, B.W. Aichbichler, et al. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, Vol. 43, No. 11 (November 1998)

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