Skip to main content

What causes constipation? - Heba Shaheed

  • 1,992,770 Views
  • 6,836 Questions Answered
  • TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

Visiting the bathroom is part of the daily human experience. But occasionally, constipation, a condition that causes a backup in your digestive system, strikes. In some especially uncomfortable cases, the food you eat can take several days to exit your body. What's behind this unsettling phenomenon? Heba Shaheed takes us into the digestive system to find out.

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Heba Shaheed
  • Director Mimi Chiu
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Producer Aaron Augenblick, Jeremy Jusay
  • Animator Mimi Chiu
  • Composer Eric Matyas
  • Associate Producer Elizabeth Cox, Jessica Ruby
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Fact-Checker Francisco Diez
  • See more creators
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Interested in learning more about constipation? Visit the Mayo Clinic site, which provides a detailed description of the physiology of chronic constipation.

Want to know why “vacation constipation” happens? Read this piece on The Atlantic, which reveals how your gut’s bacteria reacts to a new setting.

What is the difference between mechanical and chemical digestion? This TED-Ed lesson breaks down the different ways our bodies process and eliminate waste.

A large percentage of the world’s population does not have access to basic sanitary toilets. Watch this TED video on how communities grapple with this difficult reality.

If you want to find out more about pelvic health, visit The Pelvic Expert, which was co-founded by the educator.
TED-Ed
Lesson Creator
New York, NY
Most people experience constipation, yet it is often a taboo topic. Why do you think it is important to understand how and why constipation occurs?
11/28/2017
Avatar for Elijah Brooks
Elijah Brooks • LESSON IN PROGRESS

So we don't cause build up of waste in our digestive system. It could cause disease.

05/08/2018
Avatar for Nic Stebbins
Nic Stebbins • LESSON IN PROGRESS

It could give you serious stomach pains and aches if you don't do something about it.

05/08/2018
Avatar for Leopino Sete
Leopino Sete • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Because you can get ill in your butt

05/08/2018
Avatar for Braden Oberg
Braden Oberg • LESSON IN PROGRESS

It could make your stomach aches if you don't do something.

05/08/2018
Avatar for Bernardino Macedo
Bernardino Macedo • LESSON IN PROGRESS

That's simple. Because you can avoid the issues that constipation causes. There is nothing better than evacuate well.

05/10/2018
Avatar for Ilona Warner
Ilona Warner • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Knowledge is power. The more you know about any topic, the better. In this case, if you have PFD, you can prevent or help it by doing simple tasks.

05/13/2018
Avatar for David Chester
David Chester • Petach Tikva, Israel • LESSON IN PROGRESS

It is more important to know how to avoid constipation than to know of why it happens. Thus the last part of this video on diet has the greatest significance. What it fails to explain is a) why some people having similar diets are more constipated than others and b) how people who are allergic to fruit and vegetables, or live in countries where these agricultural products are difficult to obtain, can manage their digestive and expulsion systems.

05/14/2018
Avatar for Joseph Swick
Joseph Swick • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Because then you can prevent it.

05/15/2018
Avatar for Cara Goldie
Cara Goldie • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Because it can cause bowel cancer if it happens to much. It is important because you could be sick and not even noticing it!

06/17/2018
Avatar for Yung-Yao Chuang
Yung-Yao Chuang • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Understanding why constipation occurs can help us to take prevention,such as drinking more water,exercise regularly,consuming more vegetables and massaging your abdomen,so that we don’t need to suffer from constipation.

09/29/2018
Avatar for Mecca Adams
Mecca Adams • LESSON IN PROGRESS

i think its because if you don't know whats happening you should watch the video.

10/04/2018
Avatar for Siyani Warren
Siyani Warren • LESSON IN PROGRESS

So that we know how to keep it from happening/how to handle it when it does happen.

11/19/2019
Avatar for andrew rangel
andrew rangel • LESSON IN PROGRESS

so you wont build up a lot of waste in your digestive system.

11/19/2019
Avatar for justin ukah
justin ukah • LESSON IN PROGRESS

So we can avoid having any chronic pain or worse, building a disease

03/05/2020
Avatar for Abia Awan
Abia Awan • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Constipation occurs because your colon absorbs too much water from waste (stool), which dries out the stool, making it hard in consistency and difficult to push out of the body. Understanding why constipation occurs can help us to take preventive measures, such as drinking more water, exercising regularly, consuming more vegetables and massaging your abdomen, so that we don’t need to suffer from constipation. By having knowledge of constipation, the signs, and the treatments, we can avoid having chronic pain or worse, building a disease Making simple changes to your diet and lifestyle can help to treat constipation, but in order to know what will actually benefit our bodies, we need to be well informed on the topic.

01/27/2021

Customize This Lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Heba Shaheed
  • Director Mimi Chiu
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Producer Aaron Augenblick, Jeremy Jusay
  • Animator Mimi Chiu
  • Composer Eric Matyas
  • Associate Producer Elizabeth Cox, Jessica Ruby
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Fact-Checker Francisco Diez
  • See more creators