Stool consistency tells you how quickly digestion is moving. The Additional stool metrics add three more characteristics Throne can read from a bowel movement: whether it floated or sank, its estimated width, and its estimated volume.

Here is where to find them, what each one describes, what research says generally, and how to put your own readings in context.

Each metric shows a plain-language reading, such as Floating or Small.

These readings come from Throne's analysis of the bowl, so they appear only on sessions that included a bowel movement.

Buoyancy describes whether the stool floated or sank.

Gas plays a large part in why some stool floats. In a classic study, researchers found that removing the gas from floating stools caused them to sink, and concluded that trapped gas, rather than fat content alone, explained the floating they observed.[1]

Gut bacteria produce that gas as they ferment fiber and certain carbohydrates, which is why diet is one of several factors associated with changes in buoyancy.

Sinking is the more common reading, and an occasional floating stool on its own isn't something to read as a health signal.

A change from your usual pattern that persists, especially alongside stool that is consistently pale or greasy, is worth a conversation with a qualified healthcare provider.

Diameter is Throne's estimate of how wide the stool was.

Width and form tend to move together because both reflect the physical make-up of a bowel movement.

The Bristol Stool Scale describes stool from separate hard lumps through smooth, sausage-shaped stool to entirely liquid, and research has found stool form to be a useful general indicator of intestinal transit time.[2]

The factors that shape consistency, such as water content and how long stool spends in the colon, shape width as well.

That makes Diameter most useful read next to Stool consistency rather than on its own.

One unusually narrow or wide reading doesn't tell you why the stool looked that way; a shift that holds across many sessions is the thing to notice, and, like any persistent change in your stool, reasonable to mention to your provider.

Volume is Throne's estimate of how much stool the session produced.

Dietary fiber is one of the best-studied factors associated with stool bulk. Fiber retains water and provides material that gut bacteria ferment, and research has found that people who eat more fiber tend to produce heavier stools.[3]

How long stool spends in the colon matters too, since a slower transit lets the colon reabsorb more water.

A Volume reading isn't a measurement of how much fiber you ate, how hydrated you are, or how quickly food moved through you. It's an additional description of that particular bowel movement.

Volume is most useful alongside Stool Frequency. Several smaller sessions in a day and one larger one are different patterns, even if a single session wouldn't show you the difference.

Buoyancy, Diameter, and Volume rely on algorithms we're still refining, so treat them as directional rather than precise. An individual reading may occasionally differ from what you expected.

These metrics don't feed into your Gut Health Score, which is still built from stool consistency and frequency.

If a reading doesn't look right, tap + → Report an issue in the app. Those reports go to our machine learning team and are how these metrics improve.

No single one of these metrics tells the full story of a bowel movement, and none of them tells you why a session looked the way it did. What they can do is help you notice when something has moved away from your usual pattern.

Two examples of how that looks in practice:

Throne can help you see patterns in your data; these Beta metrics aren't designed to explain them.

If you've turned on the Gut Health Coach, logging meals, sleep, stress, and symptoms in the Throne Journal gives you a record of what was happening in your routine alongside your readings.

No. Your Gut Health Score is based on stool consistency and frequency. See What Is My Gut Health Score? to learn more.

Additional stool metrics apply to stool sessions only. If the whole section is missing, make sure you're on the latest version of the Throne app, then fully close and reopen it.

Tap + → Report an issue so our team can review the session. Because these are Beta, your feedback directly shapes how they improve.

A floating stool by itself doesn't tell you something is wrong; research has shown that gas can cause stool to float.[1] If you notice a persistent change in your bowel movements or have symptoms that concern you, talk with a qualified healthcare provider.

This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Throne is a general wellness product, not a medical device, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your physician with any health-related questions.