There is a chicken-and-egg problem here. These people don’t necessarily squat to sit because they squat to shit. They may squat to shit because they squat to sit. In those cultures, furniture styles are different. And poorer people won’t have enough chairs to seat each family member. They squat a lot because they have no other option. (Do they squat less as they become wealthier? I don’t know.)
Until the 19th century in the U.S., chairs were considered a luxury item, too. Poor people just didn’t have chairs. Colonial Americans squatted an awful lot, too. And I’ll bet they did just fine squatting to poop.
We had a squat toilet in our last house. I had no problem with it…until I was six months pregnant. Then I would squat and wouldn’t be able to get back up again. So we ended up buying a gizmo which fit over the top to turn it into a seat toilet.
But everything DOES come out easier when you squat.
I learned to do this when living in Asia. I have IBS and I find this position much more conducive to the ‘job’. Have to spend a long time building up the calf muscles though.
I think there are a lot of people who can’t shit. Look at all the laxatives on the shelf. Perhaps a different position would be good for these people–probably healthier than taking a lot of drugs or whatever.
Of course, the Nature Splat Form people can’t just leave it at that–they have to claim that the damn thing also cures heart attacks, athlete’s foot, and the National Debt.
And a lot of those who can’t control when they do. Look at all the other stuff on the shelf… Can you say, “Oops, I crapped my pants?” Imodium can be a godsend sometimes, especially if you have irritable bowel syndrome, or if you’ve just had an operation on your ass and are intermittently, uncontrollably dripping liquid cack because they sliced up your sphincter all the while pumping you full of antibiotics that killed all the “good” flora in your GI tract, causing diarrhea and a possible e. coli infection.
Don’t ask. No, do you really want to know? I didn’t think so.
They do have another option, they could just sit on the ground cross-legged. This would take the weight off their calf muscles and is a much less strenuous way to sit.
The fact that they choose to sit in a squatting manner suggests that, to them, it’s quite comfortable.
It’s not a chicken and egg situation because we know what came first. Before the invention of chairs and toilets we all used the squat’n’shit method.
I hate to say it… am I the only one who has instinctively climbed up onto the toilet so I could squat when I needed that little extra push? :o It certainly felt better once I had… whether it helps prevent colon cancer I can’t testify to, but I haven’t gotten it yet. For normal operations, however, sitting is preferable.
Yeah, until i scrolled down and saw the guy squatting, I thought “ohh…you sit on it”. Then i scrolled and thought “WTF?”
My chief complaint would be the “plopping” that comes after the poop. The splash of water would be bigger, and my ass would get toilet water all over it.
I’ve read doctor’s advice to subcontinental people in the newspapers here to “go Western style” (ie DON’T squat) to avoid knee/joint/hip strain, in cases where people have joint problems or mobility issues. These are usually subcontinental doctors too.
…but I am certain of haveing read somewhere that it’s more dangerous to “hover squat” over a western-style public toilet to avoid contact with the seat that to sit on it. You’re more likely to do yourself joint damage than you are to pick up disease from sitting down. Cecil’s column above in part confirms this.
Can you say, “Oops, I crapped my pants?” 
Imodium can be a godsend sometimes, especially if you have irritable bowel syndrome, or if you’ve just had an operation on your ass and are intermittently, uncontrollably dripping liquid cack because they sliced up your sphincter all the while pumping you full of antibiotics that killed all the “good” flora in your GI tract, causing diarrhea and a possible e. coli infection.