1 in 4 Brits (24%) don’t tend to look back at the toilet bowl after doing a poo, despite it being a natural and free health tracker. In a bid to change this and get more of us looking at, talking about, and tracking our poo, Andrex has partnered with Bowel Cancer UK to encourage us to look back and track - think less smart tech and more smart… poo.

As a nation, we’re tracking-obsessed. Andrex research reveals that 41% of us track our health, with the average Brit owning at least one health tracker, most commonly a smart watch or phone app (19% for both). Top markers to track include heart rate (45%) and sleep (43%), yet only 15% of those who track their health monitor their bowel movements.

Jenny Duncan

Jenny Duncan (50) was just 45 when she was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer. She was fit and active when she began noticing blood in her poo in July 2019. Initially, she ignored it, especially after starting a new job as an Assistant Headteacher, and hoped it would go away on its own.

As symptoms worsened, Jenny began documenting them and prompted by her husband, visited her GP in October. Despite being told she was ‘too young for cancer,’ photos convinced her GP to refer her for further tests. A colonoscopy and scans confirmed Stage 3 bowel cancer, which had already spread to a distant lymph node. Jenny now lives with incurable Stage 4 bowel cancer, and as she can't tolerate chemotherapy well, scans are done every 3–6 months, and treatment will only restart when her quality of life declines.Look Back & Track is designed to be a cue to the nation, reminding them to look back at what’s in the toilet and on the paper, before they flush. There is a free, effective health tracker that 12.8 million of us aren’t using, making bowel health awareness as effortless as tracking with your phone or smartwatch.

As a parody of our obsession with health tech, Andrex has created The Really Smart Ring. This spoof creation contains absolutely no tech at all, is handmade by Albert Zubaida, a Hatton Garden jeweller, and engraved with ‘Look Back & Track.’ This has been gifted to influencers including Abraham Bunga, to help spread the word about why looking back and tracking is so important.

The research by the No.1 toilet tissue brand reveals that Gen Z is more likely to track their health with at least one device (60%), compared to 47% of Millennials and Gen X. However, when it comes to looking at their poo, they’re the ones who are the most squeamish. 35% of Gen Z don’t feel comfortable looking at their own poo, compared to 26% of Millennials and 25% of Gen Xers.

Changes in pooing habits (i.e: going more or less frequently, or having diarrhoea constipation that might come and go) can be signs of a bowel-related issue, yet the research shows that 15% of us wouldn’t do anything if we noticed these changes. Look Back & Track by Andrex, in partnership with Bowel Cancer UK, is about changing this narrative, getting people to confront their embarrassment and get comfortable about going to the loo and with speaking to a GP about any bowel-related concerns.

Andrex and the UK bowel cancer charity have been working with Dr Sandi Mann to debunk our fears, explain why we have an issue with poo and how we can get comfortable with speaking to medical professionals. Dr Sandi Mann says: ”There could be various reasons why people might be reluctant to look at their poo. Although it is a natural waste product, we have been conditioned to consider poo as rather gross! This is because the smell is designed to put us off, and we are only taught to express it in places that can ensure it is quickly whisked out of sight. Should we then fail to do this beyond a certain age, we will meet strong societal disapproval. We might also be afraid of what we might see and what it might indicate, so it feels easier to literally look the other way. However, of course, that means we are ignoring a really important way to monitor our health, so attitudes really need to change so we can normalise looking back and tracking.”

Of the 1 in 4 Brits who rarely or never track their poo, the main reasons for not doing so were a lack of knowledge on what to look for (36%), followed by feelings of disgust (31%), and not realising that it could be informative on one’s health (18%).

When tracking their poo for any potential health problems, Brits would be most inclined to look out for the colour (62%), changes in their pooing habits (50%), or the texture (41%). Surprisingly, 14% would also pay attention to how long it takes to flush and 11% would listen out for the sound their poo makes when it hits the water.

Niamh Finan, Marketing Director at Andrex comments: “We are currently on a mission to break down the embarrassment barriers when it comes to the toilet and encourage the nation to ‘Get Comfortable’ with their bowel health. We have partnered with Bowel Cancer UK to change this narrative and tackle the stigma around pooing. Our joint mission is to get the nation to tackle the embarrassment around pooing and drive earlier diagnosis of bowel cancer. Encouraging people to look back and track their poo is a step towards achieving this.”

The Look Back & Track campaign is about increasing the amount of people tracking their poo, and Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive at Bowel Cancer UK comments: “We're delighted to be partnering with Andrex on this campaign to encourage people to track their poo and pooing habits. It’s important for people to know what's normal for them and watch out for anything unusual or signs of something more serious. If you're worried or feel that something's not right, it's important to speak to your GP.”

Main symptoms to watch out for when tracking your poo are: bleeding from your bottom or blood in your poo, a change in your pooing habits (you might be going more or less often, or have diarrhoea or constipation that might come and go), losing weight but you’re not sure why or feeling very tired all the time but you’re not sure why, or a pain or lump in your tummy. Having these symptoms doesn’t always mean you have bowel cancer, but it’s still important to find out what’s causing them. Even if you have just one of these, ask your GP for a simple test you can do at home.

The Look Back & Track campaign is part of a three-year partnership between Andrex and Bowel Cancer UK, which has included several initiatives including placing bowel cancer symptoms on the back of over 100 million packs of Andrex toilet tissue a year.

Visit the Andrex Look Back &Track hub to find out more: Look Back & Track | Andrex® x Bowel Cancer UK Campaign