Fecal weight and composition, serum lipids, and diet among subjects aged 18 to 80 years not seeking health care.

Sixty-two subjects not seeking health care, aged 18 to 80 yr, recorded diet intake, collected feces for 7 days, and gave fasting blood lipids. There was a great variation in stool weight passed (19 to 278 g/24 h). Fecal constituents (bile acids, sterols, fat, electrolytes) correlated strongly with fecal mass. Fecal mass correlated inversely with transit time. There was no relationship between age and fecal weight or transit time. Multiple regression analysis showed that only dietary fiber contributed to stool weight. No single component of fiber appeared to be responsible for this relationship with stool mass. Multiple regression analysis of serum cholesterol showed a relationship only with age and fecal neutral sterols.