Whether you call it breaking wind, sounding the trumpet, or cutting the cheese, everyone farts.
But how much gas is too much? The short answer: no one knows – yet.
Scientists at the University of Maryland are aiming to answer that question in a new nationwide study that uses “Smart Underwear” to track how much participants pass gas each day.
The research, led by Brantley Hall, an assistant professor in the University’s Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, seeks to improve our understanding of what constitutes excessive flatulence and what causes some people to fart more than others.
“Gastroenterologists are being overwhelmed and basically there’s not a good diagnosis for people with excess intestinal gas,” Hall said. “It’s expensive, it’s time consuming, but there’s really no answer.”
How scientists are measuring flatulence
Hall began to tackle the problem five years ago, developing “Smart Underwear” with a team of researchers in his lab. The quarter-sized wearable device clips onto people’s underwear and tracks their intestinal gas using electrochemical sensors.
An initial “proof of concept” study published in December of 19 adults found people pass gas on average about 32 times per day, more than double the amount often reported in medical literature. But some of the numbers varied widely.
For instance, two participants with the same diet passed gas 175 and 5 times, respectively, in a single day.
More: Time for a ‘fart walk.’ Here’s how it can help you.
In search of better data to understand the discrepancies, Hall and his team launched the “Human Flatulence Study” in mid-February. At the outset, they aimed to enroll 800 participants, though Hall said he would have been happy if 10 people signed up in the first week.
So far, more than 3,000 people from across the country have volunteered to take part.
“It turns out people are, like, extremely interested and want to know whether they’re farting a normal amount,” Hall said.
Enrollees, who come from nearly all 50 states, have begun sharing personal stories of excessive, or embarrassing flatulence at inconvenient times with Hall, he said.
“People are very open about it,” he said. “That might be the biggest surprise, honestly.”
Researchers will monitor participants’ food intake and ensure their diets are relatively uniform. They’ll also collect a wide range of demographic data to help pinpoint what might cause some to pass gas more than others. Hall said he expects preliminary results within about a year. The study is limited to participants in the United States and won’t be representative of the world.
Still, with thousands of participants, Hall said he expects to capture “the breadth” of the population.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scientists use ‘Smart Underwear’ to study how much people fart
