Key Points
- The CSIRO has created an app called Chart Your Fart as part of a research project on flatulence.
- Participants are asked to record the stench, loudness, duration, linger and detectability when they break wind.
- Researchers say while some people find the topic embarrassing, it is a natural and healthy bodily function.
It is not uncommon for people to keep food diaries or track their exercise but the national science agency is asking Australians to record observations of their personal gas output.
Yes, the CSIRO is calling on the community to track their farts, to help scientists better understand gut health.
Chart your fart
Researchers are hoping people will use the CSIRO’s Chart Your Fart app to provide them with data about the frequency and characteristics of what is one of the leading gut health symptoms experienced by Australians.
People aged 14 years or older are being asked to track their flatulence for at least three days, using the free phone app.
Participants will be asked to track the quantity and quality of their outputs, including attributes such as stench, loudness, duration, linger and detectability.
Research participants will be asked to input data on their farts into an app. Source: Supplied / research.csiro.au
By sharing these details, participants will help to create a chart of what ‘normal’ wind may look like in different groups of Australians.
Expelling gas is healthy and normal
CSIRO research dietitian Megan Rebuli said while some people find the topic embarrassing and uncomfortable, healthy bodies are meant to fart.
“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,” she said.
“ often leads into discussion about the other end of eating.
“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.”
Human input on gas output
The Chart Your Fart campaign is part of a newly launched public-led research initiative being driven by CSIRO health and wellbeing researchers in the citizen science space.
Project lead and CSIRO behavioural scientist, Dr Emily Brindal, said personal experience and observations can better inform research in health and wellbeing.
“We rely on the public to share their experience with us,” she said.
“Research is only as good as , 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.”
While the data that will be compiled from the research will be taken seriously, the creators of the Chart Your Fart app have opted to use less formal wording in the app itself.
It features a dashboard showing how many times a person has recorded “letting one rip so far today,” and a meter to rate the level of stench from ‘odourless’ to ‘toxic.’
“It is about keeping it real and relevant, but why not have some fun too?” Brindal said.
The Chart Your Fart app has been created specifically for the collection of data for research on flatulence experienced by Australians. Source: Supplied / research.csiro.au
Serious wind
While passing wind is a normal bodily function, a 2021 CSIRO gut health study found more than 60 per cent of Australians reported experiencing what they identified as excessive flatulence, with up to 43 per cent reporting experiencing it most days.
According to an article by associate professor of medicine at the University of New South Wales, Terry Bolin, most gas produced by humans has no aroma, however about four in 10 people have the capacity to produce “smelly hydrogen sulphide gas from the left side of the bowel because they carry a particular bacteria.”
In an article he wrote for The Conversation on the topic he said: “Smelly farts are of no great medical significance except in somebody with colitis, which is an inflammation of the large bowel or colon.
“A flare in colitis is often associated with the production of smelly gases, so have yourself checked out if you have smelly farts accompanied by diarrhoea or bleeding.”
