# Why are digestive health products marketed mainly to women? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 19, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265 "2021-03-19T23:13:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/1 "2021-03-19T23:13:47Z")
Where I live, ads for products such as healthy yogurt drinks, laxatives, products to relieve bloating or constipation, and really anything to do with digestion and the gut, seem to be almost exclusively targeted at women. Is this also true in North America and other countries? Does it reflect real physiological differences between women and men? Or a (perceived) greater willingness on the part of women to buy products to address these problems? ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/2 "2021-03-20T03:06:45Z")
Just a WAG but I suspect this is down to who _buys_ the products in a household as much as who _uses_ them. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/3 "2021-03-20T03:15:29Z")
women are more likely to have IBS and women in general are also likely more likely to seek medical care for their issues. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/4 "2021-03-20T09:33:50Z")
A significant number of women experience bloating, constipation, and diarrhea on a monthly basis due to the effects of their hormonal cycles and menstruation. Such women have some incentive to seek relief. As the only “cure” for these symptoms would be eliminating their hormonal cycles, which has significant other downsides, purchasing “digestive health products” part of the month is a way to cope with the symptoms without sterilizing surgery or other major medical disruptions. Also, they’re still the folks who buy most of the groceries and health care items for their families. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/5 "2021-03-20T12:48:44Z")
I think most health products are marketed mainly to women, perhaps because they’re often the people who buy them for mixed gender households. There are exceptions. Products that vaguely claim to increase virility and are sold in black or dark gray containers are one. Maybe remedies for muscle and joint pain are another. Remedies for specifically male issues such as prostate problems are probably another. ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/6 "2021-03-20T13:07:11Z")
Look at women’s washrooms. It looks like a science lab. Just count how many different moisturizing products. The answer is simple. Women buy crap. It’s why they’re targeted in ads. Most product types the OP mentioned don’t work worth a damn. It’s all about fancy (mostly made up) names and marketing. Skewed truths in marketing/advertising is a whole other thread. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/7 "2021-03-20T13:30:53Z")
Women are more likely to be responsible about health: they are more likely to go to the doctor and worry about their health. Unfortunately, women are more likely to purchase “natural health” cures and so forth, probably due to worries about their health. (Men are more likely to ignore health problems.) Some reports: > **[Women more likely to buy vitamins than men. They also care more about what...](https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/women-more-likely-to-buy-vitamins-than-men-they-also-care-more-about-what-they-eat)** > **[Female shoppers remain a powerful audience for dietary supplements. But how...](https://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/view/female-shoppers-remain-powerful-audience-dietary-supplements-how-can-manufacturers-reach-them)** > > According to SPINS, female-positioned supplements grew at a rate of 6%, netting a total of $628 million in U.S. sales in the 52 weeks ending July 15, 2018. Broomstick also noted some physiological differences. > [@Keith1](#): > > Look at women’s washrooms. I think that would get me in trouble! ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/8 "2021-03-20T16:11:08Z")
> [@Keith1](#): > > The answer is simple. Women buy crap. It’s why they’re targeted in ads. Men buy crap. It may on average be different crap; but they still buy plenty of crap. And any glance at drugstore shelves shows me plenty of crap being marketed to men. (I’ve never seen public women’s restrooms full of multiple moisturizing products, or multiple anything else. Most of the ones I’ve been in don’t have anything other than one type each of soap and toilet paper; and sometimes, not always, one size and style each of tampons and pads. Do you mean washrooms in private houses? If so, that’s going to be a matter of your particular acquaintance. I’ve seen bathrooms full of men’s styling products, and others with not much in them other than soap, shampoo, and toothpaste even though there were women using them, and all sorts of variations inbetween.) ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/9 "2021-03-20T23:05:21Z")
Thanks everyone for the replies and the various insights. Something that occurred to me after I posted: some digestive medicines are marketed primarily to men, or to both men and women, namely indigestion remedies (such as [Rennie](https://www.rennie.co.uk/) tablets or [Gaviscon](https://www.gaviscon.com/) liquid). Similarly, advertising of treatments for cold and flu symptoms, headaches and hay fever doesn’t seem to be so gendered. The phenomenon I noted in the OP is specific to bloating and constipation, which the advertising world would have you believe are purely a female thing. One question in the OP remains unanswered: is this also the case in America and elsewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/10 "2021-03-20T23:27:05Z")
I don’t see such advertising as _solely_ geared towards women. But they’re focusing most heavily on a female target audience because IBS (especially with constipation) is more common in women, women with endometriosis or who are pregnant are somewhat predisposed to bowel issues, and as noted, women are more likely to report such problems to their physician. Most people featured in ads for antidepressant and antimigraine meds are women because they are more commonly affected than men, not because of sexism in the pharma/ad industries. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/11 "2021-03-20T23:37:35Z")
Women, am I right? [slap bass theme music] ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-digestive-health-products-marketed-mainly-to-women/938265/12 "2021-03-21T20:07:44Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > they’re focusing most heavily on a female target audience because IBS (especially with constipation) is more common in women [To put a number to that:](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175559/#:~:text=IBS%20has%20been%20reported%20be,those%20who%20seek%20medical%20care.) > [@](#): > > IBS has been reported be a more common disease in women, with a female-to-male ratio of 2–2.5:1 in terms of those who seek medical care … With regard to symptoms, women more often complain of abdominal pain and constipation-related symptoms, while men more commonly report diarrhea-related symptoms. As to > [@hibernicus](#): > > Is this also true in North America and other countries? Does it reflect real physiological differences between women and men? That article states: > [@](#): > > The prevalence of IBS in women may also vary according to geographic region.[13](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175559/#b13-jnm-24-544) In Asia the distribution is fairly equal between men and women, but in the United States, Israel, and Canada, the disorder is twice as prevalent in women. The differences in the OR of IBS in women compared to those in men according to geographical location were statistically significant (Cochran Q, 82.89; _P_ \< 0.001).[13](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175559/#b13-jnm-24-544) These results may be caused by the various differences between Asian and Western patients with IBS, including a hygiene hypothesis model, differences in intestinal microbiota and diet, or cultural differences in healthcare-seeking behavior.[21](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175559/#b21-jnm-24-544) > > However, until now, it has been unclear whether the gender difference in the prevalence of IBS is actually associated with physiologic differences or differing medical care-seeking behaviors. … The sex-related difference in the prevalence of IBS appears around puberty and increases during the early adult years.[25](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175559/#b25-jnm-24-544) In women, IBS occurs most commonly from the late teens to the mid-forties. As age continues to increase thereafter, the incidence of IBS in women decreases and approaches the rate in men around the age of 70 years old and above.[25](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175559/#b25-jnm-24-544) In contrast, the prevalence of IBS among men remains constant from 20 to 70 years of age.[25](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175559/#b25-jnm-24-544),[26](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175559/#b26-jnm-24-544) It has been suggested that sex hormones play a potential role in these gender differences