title: Constipation and the preached trio: diet, fluid intake, exercise.
abstract: The dietary advice proffered by health care professionals to older people is doubtless well intentioned, but may not achieve the results claimed for it. In this thought-provoking study, Australian district nurse researchers canvassed the opinions of 90 older people about their experiences of constipation. A detailed interview schedule was followed but participants were also encouraged to expand on any issue in their own words. The results indicated that there was a high level of awareness of the 'trio of solutions' but there was doubt about how effective they were in practice. Negative factors relating to diet included the cost and seasonal availability of some preferred fruits, and unwanted effects of dietary fibre such as bloating, flatulence or diarrhoea. Increased fluid intake caused problems, with increased micturition for some. Exercise promoted bowel action for some respondents but they then faced the problem of trying to find toilet facilities while out walking. Each intervention also failed to help some subjects, so the researchers conclude that more attention needs to be paid to the response of the individual older person.
authors.affiliation: At Homerton College, Cambridge School of Health Studies.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adams