Effects of sex difference and life-style related factors on the prevalence of habitual constipation in collegiate students - a cross-sectional study.

The purpose of this study was to estimate some relationships between a constipation and sex, body mass index (BMI), lifestyles, and dietary intakes in collegiate students; males (n = 172) and females (n = 256). Based on the Rome's criteria, subjects were divided into three groups: a regular stool group (R), a tend-to-be-constipated group (T) and a constipated group (C). Following results were obtained.The C group was 3.5-fold higher in the females than in the males (males 2.9%, females 10.2%). The average physical activity level was 2.07 and 1.70 in the males and females, respectively. There was no significant difference in the BMI among the three groups in both sexes. The daily food intakes and nutrients were much more in males than in females. After adjusted for the energy intake, no significant differences were observed in almost all food and nutrient intakes in both sexes, and/or among the three bowel groups. Mean intakes of daily dietary fiber were similar both in males and females (males; 11.6±4.0 g/day, females; 12.1±4.9 g/day). Although dietary fiber intakes per 1000 kcal energy were significantly higher in females than in males, there were no significant differences among the three bowel groups. The males who took daily water over 1,500 ml were more in the R groups than in the C groups. Both males and females who did not defecate at a set time decreased in the R groups, but increased in the T and C groups.Based on these results, it was suggested that sexual differences, lower PAL, lower intakes of water including milks, and irregular times in a bowel evacuation but not in the BMI, might be concerned totally with the incidences of the constipation.