Table 3.
Digestive feelings, Bowel Function and General Wellbeing: Frequency 1 (percent) of days of reporting of each level of the Likert scale scores across each 14 day period (153 participants).
| Baseline Period (day 1 to 14) | Fibre Intervention Period (day 15 to 28) | |
|---|---|---|
| Digestive Feelings | ||
| Wind | ||
| None | 645 (30.3) | 622 (29.2) |
| Minimal | 791 (37.2) | 724 (34.0) |
| Moderate | 503 (23.7) | 514 (24.1) |
| A lot/Very | 178 (8.4) | 240 (11.2) |
| Extreme | 9 (0.4) | 32 (1.5) |
| Constipation | ||
| None | 1534 (72.3) | 1585 (74.5) |
| Minimal | 334 (15.8) | 362 (17.0) |
| Moderate | 191 (9.0) | 147 (6.9) |
| A lot/Very | 51 (2.4) | 29 (1.4) |
| Extreme | 11 (0.5) | 5 (0.2) |
| Indigestion | ||
| None | 1650 (78.0) | 1692 (79.5) |
| Minimal | 336 (15.9) | 314 (14.7) |
| Moderate | 105 (4.9) | 113 (5.3) |
| A lot/Very | 23 (1.1) | 11 (0.5) |
| Extreme | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) |
| Bloated | ||
| None | 1137 (53.5) | 1299 (61.0) |
| Minimal | 517 (24.4) | 512 (24.0) |
| Moderate | 312 (14.7) | 255 (12.0) |
| A lot/Very | 146 (6.9) | 61 (2.9) |
| Extreme | 10 (0.5) | 2 (0.1) |
| Sluggish | ||
| None | 1212 (57.0) | 1458 (68.4) |
| Minimal | 522 (24.6) | 472 (22.2) |
| Moderate | 295 (13.9) | 166 (7.8) |
| A lot/Very | 87 (4.1) | 33 (1.5) |
| Extreme | 8 (0.4) | 1 (0.1) |
| Digestive discomfort | ||
| None | 1483 (70.0) | 1533 (71.9) |
| Minimal | 361 (17.0) | 400 (18.8) |
| Moderate | 207 (9.8) | 150 (7.0) |
| A lot/Very | 63 (3.0) | 47 ( 2.2) |
| Extreme | 5 (0.2) | 1 (0.1) |
| Pain in the digestive system | ||
| None | 1735 (81.7) | 1679 (78.8) |
| Minimal | 249 (11.7) | 311 (14.6) |
| Moderate | 104 (4.9) | 106 (5.1) |
| A lot/Very | 32 (1.5) | 31 (1.4) |
| Extreme | 5 (0.2) | 1 (0.1) |
| Bowel Function | ||
| Ease of defecation | ||
| 0: Very easy, effortless | 449 (24.3) | 590 (30.4) |
| 1: Fairly easy | 679 (36.7) | 757 (39.1) |
| 2: Moderate, little effort required | 491 (26.6) | 485 (25.0) |
| 3: Required effort | 192 (10.5) | 91 (4.7) |
| 4: Difficult, straining required | 36 (1.9) | 15 ( 0.8) |
| 5: Difficult, painful, force required | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Satisfaction of bowel movement | ||
| 0: Dissatisfied, feels like there is more | 100 (5.5) | 69 (3.6) |
| 1: Still feel like I need to go | 317 (17.4) | 234 (12.1) |
| 2: No descriptor provided | 602 (33.0) | 639 (33.2) |
| 3: No descriptor provided | 458 (25.2) | 574 (29.8) |
| 4: Almost perfect | 343 (18.9) | 410 ( 21.3) |
| 5: It’s all gone, I feel empty | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Stool Type | ||
| 1: hard to pass | 187 (7.7) | 90 (3.4) |
| 2: hard to pass | 289 (12.1) | 192 (7.3) |
| 3: ideal consistency | 700 (29.3) | 678 (25.7) |
| 4: ideal consistency | 749 (31.3) | 1073 (40.8) |
| 5: Difficult to control | 340 (14.2) | 409 (5.6) |
| 6: Difficult to control | 99 (4.2) | 168 (6.4) |
| 7: Difficult to control | 28 (1.2) | 21 (0.8) |
| Stool Quantity | ||
| 0: less than average | 668 (27.8) | 659 (24.6) |
| 1: average | 1451 (60.6) | 1618 (60.5) |
| 2: more than average | 277 (11.6) | 397 (14.9) |
| General Wellbeing | ||
| Mental alertness | ||
| None | 222 (10.4) | 176 (8.3) |
| Minimal | 273 (12.8) | 234 (11.0) |
| Moderate | 1157 (54.3) | 1150 (54.3) |
| A lot/Very | 432 (20.4) | 506 (23.9) |
| Extreme | 45 (2.1) | 53 (2.5) |
| Feeling slim | ||
| None | 582 (27.4) | 458 (21.6) |
| Minimal | 515 (24.3) | 513 (24.3) |
| Moderate | 724 (34.1) | 679 (32.1) |
| A lot/Very | 262 (12.4) | 411 (19.4) |
| Extreme | 38 (1.8) | 55 (2.6) |
| Feeling happy | ||
| None | 122 (5.8) | 99 (4.7) |
| Minimal | 301 (14.2) | 237 (11.2) |
| Moderate | 1089 (51.3) | 1020 (48.2) |
| A lot/Very | 537 (25.3) | 675 (31.9) |
| Extreme | 74 (3.4) | 84 (4.0) |
| Stress | ||
| None | 822 (38.6) | 974 (46.0) |
| Minimal | 719 (33.8) | 668 (31.6) |
| Moderate | 412 (19.4) | 365 (17.2) |
| A lot/Very | 143 (6.7) | 90 (4.3) |
| Extreme | 32 (1.5) | 18 (0.9) |
| Mental tiredness | ||
| None | 650 (30.6) | 783 (37.0) |
| Minimal | 677 (31.9) | 713 (33.7) |
| Moderate | 575 (27.1) | 515 (24.4) |
| A lot/Very | 207 (9.7) | 100 (4.7) |
| Extreme | 16 (0.7) | 4 (0.2) |
| Headache | ||
| None | 1571 (74.1) | 1628 (77.1) |
| Minimal | 325 (15.3) | 313 (14.8) |
| Moderate | 143 (6.8) | 131 (6.2) |
| A lot/Very | 59 (2.8) | 35 (1.7) |
| Extreme | 21 (1.0) | 4 (0.2) |
| Feeling energetic | ||
| None | 292 (3.7) | 207 (9.8) |
| Minimal | 559 (26.3) | 444 (21.1) |
| Moderate | 994 (46.8) | 1048 (49.7) |
| A lot/Very | 242 (11.4) | 360 (17.1) |
| Extreme | 38 (1.8) | 49 (2.3) |
| Feeling fat | ||
| None | 1020 (48.1) | 1134 (54.0) |
| Minimal | 465 (21.9) | 508 (24.2) |
| Moderate | 404 (19.0) | 331 (15.8) |
| A lot/Very | 185 (8.7) | 116 (5.5) |
| Extreme | 49 (2.3) | 10 (0.5) |
| Difficulty concentrating | ||
| None | 926 (43.6) | 1051 (49.8) |
| Minimal | 649 (30.5) | 661 (31.3) |
| Moderate | 404 (19.0) | 355 (16.8) |
| A lot/Very | 117 (5.5) | 44 (2.1) |
| Extreme | 30 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) |
| Physical tiredness | ||
| None | 634 (29.7) | 824 (39.0) |
| Minimal | 592 (27.8) | 634 (30.0) |
| Moderate | 626 (29.4) | 534 (25.2) |
| A lot/Very | 248 (11.6) | 118 (5.6) |
| Extreme | 31 (1.5) | 5 (0.2) |
1 Maximum total frequency for each parameter is 153 participants × 14 days of recording = 2142, a lower total frequency is explained by missing data.