Cellulose added to meals and stool weight in women
What it found
Adding 4 g or 8 g of cellulose to meals raised stool weight in women with normal bowel habits but not in constipated women.
This was measured over four weeks.
What they found
Studies in people
Stool weight in normal group
Women with normal bowel habits had an average stool weight of 222.9 g per day in the first week. It dropped after that. Adding cellulose brought it back above 150 g.
Stool firmness stayed low
Even with 20 g or 24 g of total fiber in weeks three and four, stool firmness stayed below what the authors call optimal. That target is around 300 g cm(-2).
No change for constipated women
The constipated group did not show these changes in stool weight or firmness when cellulose was added to their meals.
What the authors conclude
- They found that adding cellulose raised stool weight in women with normal bowel habits but did not reach ideal firmness.
- They note that constipated women did not see the same changes from the extra cellulose.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see how adding cellulose to food changes stool weight and firmness. They compared women who go to the toilet normally with those who are constipated.
About 26 women were split into two groups based on their usual bowel habits. Over four weeks they ate ordinary meals, then test meals with 16.7 g of fiber, then the same test meals mixed with 4 g and later 8 g of cellulose. The researchers measured stool weight, water content, firmness and how often the women went to the toilet.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial lasted only four weeks, so longer term effects are unknown.
- It included about 26 women, so the results may not apply to men or larger groups.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Japan
The paper
- Title
- Effects of cellulose supplementation on fecal consistency and fecal weight
- Type
- Clinical trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Danjo K, Sakamoto J, Iwane S, et al (2008). Effects of cellulose supplementation on fecal consistency and fecal weight. Digestive diseases and sciences. doi:10.1007/s10620-007-9938-6PubMed 17763952DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error