{"id":127671,"date":"2025-09-10T13:43:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T13:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/127671\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T13:43:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T13:43:07","slug":"healthy-habit-that-reduces-risk-of-being-constipated-by-40-per-cent-scientists-discover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/127671\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy habit that reduces risk of being constipated by 40 per cent, scientists discover"},"content":{"rendered":"

Midlifers who adopt healthy habits including getting at least seven hours of sleep a night can significantly slash their risk of constipation\u2014a common gastrointestinal issue that has been linked with bowel cancer<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Researchers found that never smoking, regular vigorous exercise, eating well and limiting alcohol<\/a> consumption can also help ward off constipation\u2014with adults who adopt at least three of these behaviours experiencing a 40 per cent reduced risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Constipation\u2014a significant reduction in the number of, or an increased difficulty carrying out, bowel movements\u2014affects one in seven adults.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the frequency of bowel movement varies per individual, the NHS<\/a> states not passing stool at least three times a week is a sign of constipation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whilst the condition is normally a mild ailment, revolved by lifestyle changes, experts have tirelessly warned that chronic constipation significantly increases the risk of bowel cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong<\/a>, have identified five healthy lifestyle factors which could help midlifers slash their risk by nearly 50 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the study, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology<\/a>, researchers followed 107,475 UK Biobank participants aged 40-70 years old who had no history of functional constipation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During a follow-up of nearly 12 years, 3,591 new cases of functional constipation were recorded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Constipation <\/p>\n

Constipation often makes it more difficult to maintain regular bowel movements, causing sufferers to strain and feel like they have not fully emptied their bowels<\/p>\n

Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n

Participants were grouped by how many of the five healthy lifestyle habits they followed, such as not smoking, exercising regularly and prioritising sleep.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Compared to those who failed to follow any of these healthy behaviours, those who adopted at least one habit reduced their risk of constipation by almost 20 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Practicing four out of five of the healthy habits saw participants slash their risk of constipation by almost half.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The researchers concluded: ‘Adopting a higher number of healthy lifestyle behaviours is significantly associated with a reduced risk of constipation in the middle-aged and elderly population, indicating their potential to be a primary prevention strategy.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

The researchers also observed that even individually, some lifestyle habits significantly slashed the risk of the common bowel condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, never smoking was associated with a 17 per cent lower risk, whilst getting seven to nine hours sleep a night reduced the risk by over 20 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The researchers added: ‘A coordinated multilevel strategy is imperative to facilitate the widespread adoption of the five key lifestyle recommendations among the general population as a means of prevention.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

The advice comes amid a worrying trend of younger adults being diagnosed with bowel cancer<\/a>, after putting their symptoms down to stress, lifestyle factors and food intolerances\u2014with chronic constipation now thought to affect 15 per cent of the world’s population.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n

Chronic constipation can significantly increase the risk of bowel cancer, as regular bowel movements minimises the amount of time potential toxins can spend in contact with the bowel wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Haney Yousef, a colorectal surgeon, previously told the Daily Mail: ‘This is crucial because prolonged contact with harmful substances can damage the delicate lining<\/a> of our colon and rectum.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyone who also suffers bloating, unexplained weight loss, blood in the stool, extreme fatigue and\/or abdominal pain should contact their GP as this could be a sign of something more serious.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the disease is known to be linked to obesity,\u00a0experts have noted the disease is increasingly affecting otherwise fit and healthy patients.<\/p>\n

Some experts believe the explanation must lie in environmental factors young people have been exposed to more than previous generations\u2014with fast-moving lifestyles affecting everything from sleep, diet and exercise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While no ‘smoking gun’ has been found, there are multiple theories including modern chemicals in diets, microplastics, and pollution.<\/p>\n

Around 44,000 cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK, claiming the lives of almost 17,000 patients each year.<\/p>\n

By 2040, there are expected to be 609,000 cases of bowel cancer<\/a> in England alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Overall, just over half of bowel cancer patients are expected to be alive 10 years after their diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Cancer Research UK estimates that more than half\u201454 per cent\u2014of bowel cancer cases are preventable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Midlifers who adopt healthy habits including getting at least seven hours of sleep a night can significantly slash…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[97,59,102,104,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-127671","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-nhs","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}