{"id":1125993,"date":"2026-08-02T13:12:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T13:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1125993\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T13:12:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T13:12:39","slug":"why-we-should-take-poop-walks-especially-as-we-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1125993\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Should Take ‘Poop Walks’, Especially As We Age"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a fact that never fails to make me feel more connected to my fellow man: at any given time, about one in seven UK adults<\/a> is struggling with constipation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s believed to affect<\/a> twice as many women as men (ladies have a longer colon<\/a> and more variable hormones<\/a>), and tends to get worse<\/a> and is more likely to be chronic<\/a> as we age.<\/p>\n

Experts think<\/a> that change might be partly down to factors like decreased mobility, drinking less water, slower gut transit time, weaker muscles, certain medications, and a higher likelihood of medical conditions that make getting backed up more probable.<\/p>\n

Regardless of its cause, though, there\u2019s lots of research to suggest a relatively simple solution: maybe we should all be trying a poop walk.<\/p>\n

Er… what? <\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve written before <\/a>about \u201cfart walks,\u201d which involve going for a short stroll after a meal. These have been linked to<\/a> better blood sugar management and even a lower cancer risk.<\/p>\n

And research has shown<\/a> that walking gets our bowels moving a minute or so after we start, helping to relieve constipation, too.<\/p>\n

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Julie Thompson, an Information Manager at digestive system charity Guts UK<\/a>, said: \u201cOne of the roles of the large bowel is to absorb water from the gut contents, so the longer poo stays in the large bowel, the drier it becomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking stimulates bowel movements because it increases intestinal motility (increases gut muscle contractions) in people with constipation, decreasing the time it takes for the gut contents to move through.\u201d <\/p>\n

She added, \u201cWalking regularly can also improve the variety of the gut microbes, compared with those who are less active, which produces health-related benefits for the large bowel and for wider health.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can I take a poop walk? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Thompson told us that it can be hard to work out exactly how far or long we should walk to, er, unclog the pipes.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch studies use a wide variety of activity in their publications, so it is difficult to be precise about the combined recommendations, plus there is likely to be some individual variation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Still, a little may go a long way. A 2025 paper<\/a>, which included 21 healthy adults, saw great results after a 20-minute treadmill walk, noting that bowel activity increased pretty much as soon as participants got moving.<\/p>\n

And other research<\/a> from this year, which focused on older adults with Parkinson\u2019s disease, found that increasing participants\u2019 steps by 3,000 daily from their usual baseline \u201csignificantly improved constipation\u201d after three months.<\/p>\n

Thompson told us that you don\u2019t need to be constipated to take advantage of a poop walk \u2013 \u201cthe best option is to follow the NHS general guidance on activity, which recommends adults should try to be active every day and aim to do at least 150 minutes of physical activity over a week, through a variety of activities including walking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone is able to walk, but is not active, it is best to increase the distance gradually,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

Even if you\u2019re not constipated, walking can keep you regular<\/strong><\/p>\n

The NHS says<\/a> on its site that \u201cA daily walk or run can help you poo more regularly\u201d.<\/p>\n

Professor Yohei Otaka, author of a study that found a 20-minute walk improved healthy adults\u2019 gut motility, said<\/a>, \u201cWalking can serve as an effective, immediate tool for stimulating bowel function.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe findings also point to potential underlying mechanisms, such as changes in autonomic nervous system activity or reflexes triggered by the body\u2019s natural oscillations during movement.\u201d <\/p>\n

Aside from its bowel-based benefits, a stroll can \u201cimprove cardiovascular health by strengthening the heart, thereby helping circulation, lower[ing] blood pressure, [and] helping in the prevention of heart disease and stroke,\u201d Matthew Nolan<\/a>, a chief instructor at Barry\u2019s in New York City, previously told HuffPost<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s a fact that never fails to make me feel more connected to my fellow man: at any…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1125994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[5114,105,59038,16,15,5182],"class_list":["post-1125993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-evergreen","tag-health","tag-regular","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-walking"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117026091642286939","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1125993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1125994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1125993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1125993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1125993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}