Most Americans struggle with digestive issues, but very few are tracking them. A 2024 survey found that only 6% of people track their bowel habits, even though 61% of U.S. adults experience at least one gastrointestinal symptom every week. Data from the American Gastroenterological Association shows that nearly 40% of Americans say bowel symptoms have disrupted their normal daily activities within the past year.
Despite how common these problems are, most people rely on memory to describe their digestion to doctors. Research shows that symptom recall is often inaccurate, and memory alone fails to capture changes over time. This is known as recall bias, where the brain naturally remembers unusual events but forgets routine ones. This makes it hard to estimate how often something happened or when it changed.
Health is measured in patterns, not isolated moments. Blood pressure is tracked over time, cholesterol is monitored across years, and blood sugar is watched over weeks and months. The same approach applies to digestive health. Doctors know that one bowel movement offers only a snapshot, while weeks or months of information create a much more complete picture.
Kohler Health is introducing a product called Dekoda, designed to fit discreetly onto the toilet. It passively tracks bathroom patterns over time and delivers insights through the Kohler Health App. The device tracks hydration status and bowel movement patterns, including frequency and consistency. It can also detect the presence of blood, providing data that may warrant discussion with a healthcare provider.
Viewed individually, these measurements may not tell the whole story. But together over weeks and months, they can reveal meaningful patterns that help people better understand their digestive health. This can help people make informed decisions about their overall wellbeing, make lifestyle changes as needed, and have more thoughtful conversations with their healthcare providers.
The idea is similar to how wearable technology transformed the understanding of sleep, activity, and heart health. Kohler Health is applying that same approach to one of the few areas of health that has remained largely invisible. Closing this data gap will not answer every health question, but it can help ensure that one of the body’s most consistent sources of information is no longer overlooked.
