Sydney, Australia, 2 April 2025 – Australians are being encouraged to ditch the gut health shame epidemic, with more than a quarter (27%) admitting to feelings of shame or embarrassment around their bowel movements, despite more than half of all Australians experiencing gut health related issues in their lifetime*.
The warning follows fresh research from leading nutrition and food tracking app, MyFitnessPal, which reveals that shame around gut health is most pronounced around those aged between 25 - 44 years of age. Australians in this cohort are more than double as likely to experience shame or embarrassment around gut related issues compared to older generations, especially in comparison to their boomer counterparts.
Nutritionist and MyFitnessPal ambassador, Michaela Sparrow, said, "While talking about health issues can often be an uncomfortable experience, the data shows that the issue is particularly prevalent when it comes to gut health. In some cases, such embarrassment is even causing some to neglect their own gut health challenges in the process, causing longer term challenges in some instances. But my message to Aussies is simple - it's far more common than most realise, and its nothing to feel embarrassed by."
In an effort to reduce widespread gut health shame, the research revealed that more than two-thirds (68%) of all Australians have proactively modified their diet in a bid to improve their gut health, with most likely to add probiotic-rich dairy, nuts, seeds, and high-fibre foods to their diets. Conversely, 2 in 5 Australians have also actively avoided sugar and fast food before due to concerns about the impact on their gut.
Overall, the most popular reasons to improve gut health related to boosting overall health and wellbeing, improving digestion and reducing bloating, and losing weight.
Even with the addition of diet improvements, for some it's not enough. The survey of more than 1,000 Australians also revealed the extent some are willing to go to improve their gut health. In fact, 1 in 6 Aussies have turned to old wives' tales or social media trends to improve their gut health, with the most popular methods include drinking lemon water, taking apple cider vinegar shots, eating an apple a day and consuming ginger or peppermint for digestion.
"While there's no one-fits-all solution to improve the state of our gut, eating fibre-rich foods is often the best way to ensure we are feeding our gut microbiome, which plays a critical role in the overall state of our health. My advice is simple - incorporating a variety of vegetables, legumes and grains, such as chia seeds and quinoa as part of our daily diet, often goes a lot further in supporting digestion and wellbeing than any supplements," said Michaela.
While Australians strive to improve their gut health and fibre consumption, the overall majority (91%) are still unaware of how much protein, fibre, carbs, sugar, or salt they consume daily - suggesting most aren't often equipped to make better choices about their gut health and wellbeing.
Michaela added, "Knowledge is power. By using nutrition tracking apps like MyFitnessPal to monitor your fibre intake and identify patterns in your diet, including foods that might trigger bloating or digestive discomfort, you will be able to take a better steer of how your eating habits impact your overall health and achieve lasting change."
To find more about how you can use MyFitnessPal to track your nutrition and transform your 2025, you can visit www.myfitnesspal.com or
