According to a 2024 study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, how often you poop is actively shaping the microbiome ecosystem inside your body. Which, as a series of recent studies have found, is increasingly tied to the rest of your bodily functions.

Researchers analyze stool samples from 20 people grouped by how often they pooped: either a few times a week, several times a week, or daily. They found that people who pooped less frequently had a more diverse range of gut microbes. Daily poopers showed a wider variety of microbial life living inside them, including higher levels of bacteria such as Bacteroides, which have been linked in some studies to reduced weight gain.

What Your Pooping Habits Might Reveal About Your Health

Having a more diverse gut microbiome sounds good in theory, but the reality of it is a little more complex. The longer waste sits in your colon, the more time microbes have to ferment it. That process produces a ton of compounds, some of which are helpful to you, while others are harmful. Some byproducts of certain protein digestion, for example, can contribute to cardiovascular or kidney issues in the long run.

Your diet influences how long it takes for the food you eat to move through your system. It’s that transit time that gut microbes thrive. The ones that do will reward you by producing chemicals that can alter your gut’s environment, potentially reinforcing those good eating and pooping habits.

A separate 2024 study found a happy middle ground where you aren’t pooping too often but not waiting too long between poops, which was closely associated with better overall health than people who exist at either extreme.