Enter digestive and lifestyle inputs
The form uses a responsive grid: three columns on large screens, two on smaller screens, and one on mobile devices.
Example data table
| Profile | Fiber g/day | Water L/day | Bloating days/week | Sleep hours | Stress | Index | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case A | 31 | 2.7 | 1 | 8.0 | 3 | 88.4 | Excellent |
| Case B | 23 | 2.1 | 2 | 7.2 | 5 | 74.6 | Good |
| Case C | 17 | 1.6 | 4 | 6.2 | 7 | 58.9 | Fair |
| Case D | 12 | 1.1 | 6 | 5.5 | 8 | 41.7 | Needs Attention |
Formula used
DHI = Σ (Normalized factor score × weight share)
Normalization approach
- Bowel regularity: full score when bowel movements stay between 1 and 3 per day.
- Stool form: highest score near Bristol types 3 and 4.
- Symptoms: bloating, pain, and reflux use reverse weekly frequency scoring.
- Fiber adequacy: actual fiber divided by age- and sex-based target, capped at 100.
- Hydration adequacy: actual water divided by body-weight-based target, capped at 100.
- Fermented food intake: weekly servings compared with a 7-serving weekly benchmark.
- Sleep recovery: full score between 7 and 9 hours per night.
- Stress load: lower self-rated stress produces a higher score.
- Physical activity: minutes compared with a 150-minute weekly benchmark.
- Processed meal balance: fewer processed meals improve the score.
Weighting emphasizes bowel pattern, stool form, symptom control, fiber, hydration, sleep, and recovery. The final score ranges from 0 to 100.
How to use this calculator
- Enter age, sex, and body weight to personalize fiber and hydration targets.
- Add bowel frequency, Bristol stool type, and weekly symptom frequency honestly.
- Enter daily fiber, water, sleep, and weekly fermented food intake.
- Add stress level, exercise minutes, and processed meals for lifestyle context.
- Press Calculate Index to display the result above the form.
- Review the radar chart, component table, and lowest-scoring improvement areas.
- Use the export buttons to save a CSV file or PDF summary.
- Repeat regularly to compare trends and monitor habit changes over time.
FAQs
1) What does this index measure?
It combines digestive symptoms, bowel pattern, stool form, nutrition, hydration, sleep, stress, exercise, and processed food exposure into one weighted 0 to 100 score.
2) Is a higher score always better?
Yes. Higher scores suggest a more supportive digestive pattern overall. However, even strong scores do not rule out food intolerance, reflux disease, IBS, or other medical conditions.
3) Why are fiber and water targets personalized?
Fiber needs differ by age and sex, while hydration needs often scale with body size. Personal targets make the index more useful than a fixed one-size benchmark.
4) What is a good Digestive Health Index score?
A score of 85 or higher is excellent. Scores from 70 to 84.9 are good. Scores from 55 to 69.9 are fair. Lower scores suggest more improvement opportunities.
5) Can I use this for medical diagnosis?
No. This calculator is for education and self-tracking. Blood in stool, persistent pain, unexplained weight loss, vomiting, or severe reflux should be reviewed promptly by a clinician.
6) How often should I recalculate?
Weekly or every two weeks works well for habit tracking. Daily use is possible, but small day-to-day changes may reflect noise rather than meaningful digestive progress.
7) Why does stool type affect the result?
Stool form provides useful signal about transit time, hydration, fiber balance, and gut comfort. Types 3 and 4 are commonly treated as the most balanced pattern.
8) What should I improve first?
Start with the lowest-scoring factors shown in the results. Fiber, hydration, sleep, stress management, and meal quality often offer the biggest practical gains.