Why Do I Fart When I Walk? (2024)

You may notice you tend to fart when you walk. Passing gas is how the body gets rid of gas and air trapped in the digestive system. Walking and other physical activity can aid digestion, and producing farts is a normal function of an active digestive tract.

While farting during a walk can be embarrassing, some people embrace the benefits. The term "fart walk" has found its way into the social conversation as people tout taking a walk to reduce bloating and trapped air.

This article discusses why it's normal to fart while walking, what causes flatulence, ways to reduce excessive flatulence, and the benefits of walking on digestion.

Why Do I Fart When I Walk? (1)

Is It Normal to Fart While Walking?

Estimates vary, but most people fart anywhere from six to 20 times each day. Farting is a normal part of digestion, and it's common for people to fart when walking.

Farting is one of two ways to get rid of the air trapped in your body. The other is belching.

The reason farts can be smelly (and belching is not) is that the gas that builds up in your intestines from gut bacteria contains sulfur, which has a distinctive and unpleasant odor. About half of the gas in flatulence is nitrogen, while hydrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane, and sulfur make up the rest.

For some people, farting can be socially embarrassing. They become self-conscious while engaging in healthy exercise around others, including when walking on a treadmill at the gym or outdoors, with friends.

You can try to normalize farting in these circ*mstances by ignoring it when you or others fart. You might also feel comfortable making a small joke or offering a quick apology. Try not to let this normal body function keep you from getting healthy physical activity.

A Word From Verywell

Farting is a good sign that your intestines are moving appropriately and removing excess gas. Farting is a sign of good gut motility.

What Causes Farting While Walking?

The body creates gas as it breaks down foods in the large intestine. Movement increases digestion by stimulating muscle contractions in the intestine, which carry food along the intestinal tract and air and gas with it.

The more active your system, the more you may fart to get rid of the gas. Nearly any kind of exercise or activity can have the same effect.

There are a few behaviors that can increase the amount of air in your body, which will increase farts, including:

  • Chewing gum
  • Gulping liquids
  • Sucking on hard candy
  • Swallowing air

Eating foods that contain a lot of fiber or ferment in the body can also add to farting. These foods are only partly digested in the small intestine, leaving more work for the large intestine, where the gas is produced. Some of these foods produce particularly smelly gas, including:

  • Asparagus
  • Beans
  • Cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables
  • Coffee
  • Dairy products, including milk and yogurt, especially in lactose-intolerant people
  • Eggs
  • Onions

Some medications can also increase flatulence, including:

  • Antacids
  • Antidiarrheal medicines
  • Aspirin
  • Fiber supplements
  • Multivitamins and iron supplements
  • Opioids

How Can I Prevent Excessive Farting When Walking?

If you feel like you are farting more than you can deal with, here are some tips to employ:

  • Chew your food slowly and thoroughly.
  • Don't chew gum.
  • Avoid drinking carbonated liquids.
  • Avoid using straws, which increase the amount of air you take in.

Some types of food may also lead to more gas production, and you might want to wait to consume them until after your workout:

  • Foods containing hard-to-digest carbs, including FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols), such as wheat, beans, and some fruits and vegetables
  • Dairy foods containing lactose

As these foods can be beneficial, it's best not to entirely eliminate whole categories of foods from your diet. Talk to a healthcare provider about your digestive concerns and to a registered dietitian to ensure you are getting a healthy diet.

When to See a Healthcare Provider for Gas

Sometimes, gas can be connected to digestive disorders. If you notice changes in your digestion, including an increase in flatulence, farts that smell very strong, farts with severe abdominal pain, bloody or oily stool, or diarrhea or constipation that doesn't go away, see a healthcare provider.

Can Taking a Walk Help With Digestion?

Taking a walk after you eat can help you digest food by stimulating your digestive system. Even a 10- or 15-minute stroll can help avoid bloating, which is due to gas in your body.

Social media "fart walk" claims of improved digestion came from people who eat a fiber-heavy diet and found that walking helped them. Activity does increase digestive activity in the body, which may alleviate minor gastrointestinal concerns.

Summary

You may fart when you walk because physical activity stimulates the digestive system. Trapped gas and air moves through your digestive system and is released through either farting or belching. Walking can be good for your digestion, and farting is a normal bodily process.

If you notice changes in your digestion, including increased farting and intestinal distress, contact a healthcare provider.

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Unity Point Heath. The truth about gas.

  2. American College of Gastroenterology. Belching, bloating, and flatulence overview. January, 2022.

  3. Giddens S. Flatulence: everything you wanted to know about farting. Houston Methodist. October 13, 2020.

  4. My Health Alberta. Medicines or vitamins that can cause gas, bloating, or burping. March 1, 2023.

  5. MedlinePlus. Gas - flatulence. May 4, 2022.

  6. Johns Hopkins Medicine. How to get rid of gas pain.

  7. Hamaguchi T, Tayama J, Suzuki M, et al. The effects of locomotor activity on gastrointestinal symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome among younger people: an observational study.PLoS One. 2020;15(5):e0234089. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0234089

Why Do I Fart When I Walk? (3)

By Nancy LeBrun
LeBrun is a Maryland-based freelance writer and award-winning documentary producer with a bachelor's degree in communications.

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Why Do I Fart When I Walk? (2024)

FAQs

Why Do I Fart When I Walk? ›

Walking and other physical activity can aid digestion, and producing farts is a normal function of an active digestive tract. While farting during a walk can be embarrassing, some people embrace the benefits.

What is your body telling you when you fart a lot? ›

Excessive farting can be caused by: swallowing more air than usual. eating foods that are difficult to digest. conditions affecting the digestive system like indigestion or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

What is a walking fart called? ›

Crop dusting is the act of farting on the move. It might seem rude to fart and run, but it's every man for himself in this world, and if you can get out of where you are quickly, you won't have to deal with any of the aftermath. What is a walking fart called? Crop dusting is the act of farting on the move.

Do you fart more as you get older? ›

Healthy adults pass gas between 10 and 25 times per day. As you get older, however, you're more likely to take medications, gain weight, become lactose intolerant and have other issues that lead to an increase in gas. So, it's not necessarily the age that's leading to the tooting — it's all the other stuff.

Why do I fart every time I get up? ›

You might fart at night or first thing in the morning because of normal variations in your anal sphincter, the ring of muscle that keeps the anus shut. Your anal sphincter is more relaxed during sleep and will spontaneously relax as you awaken, which makes it easier for gas to escape.

Are you unhealthy if you fart a lot? ›

On average, it's normal to fart between 14 and 23 times throughout your day, often without attracting much notice. For most people, it's not a major problem. But if you find yourself consistently farting in an excessive manner — or if it comes with any sensation of pain — you should consult a doctor.

Do healthy people fart more or less? ›

Passing wind is normal, but the amount varies between individuals and depends on a number of factors including diet. Some people pass wind only a handful of times per day, others up to 40 times, while the average seems to be about 15. Symptoms of excessive (or embarrassing) flatulence include: passing wind often.

What is stinky fart? ›

Flatulence consists of multiple gases. Typically, the cause of most bad odors from farting is due to intestinal bacteria producing sulfur-containg compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide.

What is a wet fart called? ›

Watery flatulence, or wet farts, refers to when liquid passes out the rectum, alongside air during a fart. Typically, this liquid is either mucus or watery stool.

What is front fart called? ›

vagin*l flatulence, also known as vagin*l flatus, or queef, is an emission of trapped air from the vagin*. vagin*l flatulence is both common and completely normal. It most frequently occurs during sexual activity or exercise. [1] Overwhelmingly, it doesn't pose any gynecological health risks.

Why do I pass gas when I walk? ›

You may fart when you walk because physical activity stimulates the digestive system. Trapped gas and air moves through your digestive system and is released through either farting or belching. Walking can be good for your digestion, and farting is a normal bodily process.

Is it normal to fart 70 times a day? ›

Doctors say the average person farts anywhere from 10 – 20 times per day. Farting is a normal part of digestion that reflects the activity of the bacteria in your gut. You might also notice that you fart more when you eat certain foods that are more difficult to digest, like beans or raw vegetables.

Why am I so gassy all the time and it stinks? ›

Excessive or smelly farts can be caused when you swallow air or eat foods that are difficult to digest. It can also sometimes be a sign of a health condition. Do not self-diagnose. See a GP if you're worried about your farting.

Why do we fart before we poop? ›

A buildup of gas-producing foods and swallowed air during the day may make you more flatulent in the evening. Also, you're more likely to fart when the muscles in the intestines are stimulated. When you're about to have a bowel movement, for example, those muscles are moving stool to the rectum.

What happens when you hold in a fart? ›

“Gas that is not passed will be absorbed by the bloodstream and ultimately breathed out by the lungs,” says Dr. Ligresti. “Holding gas in can be uncomfortable due to intestinal distension, leading to bloating or nausea. However, it ultimately is not harmful—but also not recommended.”

What food makes you fart the most? ›

8 (sometimes surprising) foods that make you fart
  1. Fatty foods, including pork and beef. Fatty foods slow down digestion, which can leave them festering in your gut, fermenting and getting pongy. ...
  2. Beans. ...
  3. Eggs. ...
  4. Onions. ...
  5. Dairy. ...
  6. Wheat and wholegrains. ...
  7. Broccoli, cauli and cabbage. ...
  8. 8. Fruits.

What can passing gas say about your health? ›

If gas occurs more frequently than usual, or if it's accompanied by other symptoms, like abdominal pain, weight loss, fever, or bloody stools, you should speak with your doctor. “These symptoms could be signs of a digestive disorder, such as celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, or Crohn's disease,” says Dr. Staller.

Is there something wrong with me if I fart a lot? ›

Excessive or smelly farts can be caused when you swallow air or eat foods that are difficult to digest. It can also sometimes be a sign of a health condition. Do not self-diagnose. See a GP if you're worried about your farting.

Why do I fart so much and they stink? ›

You may have excess smelly farts if more bacteria rapidly break down carbs in your large intestine, which releases more gas than usual. People who are fructose or lactose intolerant, are sensitive to high-FODMAP foods, or eat too much fiber may notice increased gas symptoms.

How does the body know when to fart? ›

We fart because there is gas in our intestines that we need to get out. A small amount of swallowed air makes it into the intestines, but most of the gas there is produced by the bacteria that help to digest our food. This gas is expelled by burping and farting.

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