Heh, I'm a little surprised at how much interest this topic generated. :-)
It seems to have touched on some sensitive social points and it does offer
interesting insight to modern Western culture.

> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gale
> 
> As a pooper, and as a former catcher (american game - baseball), I
> object to the assumption that squatters would squat even if they had
> another option, oh.... I don't know... a toilet!  It  does show us that
> their lifestyle supports good hamstrings though.
> gale

Object? Lol, we're talking about a bathroom not a courtroom ;-). Sorry, you
had to know that bathroom humor would come up during this subject
eventually. :-)

At any rate, no one made an assumption about squat-toilet users rejecting
other options that I can see. On the contrary, I think it likely that many
squatters (neat term :-) ) who don't have access to raised toilets would
choose a modern raised toilet if it were offered to them. The French folks I
mentioned in my example were not poor and actually chose to live a rustic
life on a farm that had a squat toilet and didn't seem to mind it. So I also
don't think we should make the counter-assumptions that all squatters are
too poor or remotely located to acquire a raised toilet or that absolutely
everyone would choose throne-sitting over squatting (the devices sold on the
Internet that convert throne toilets into squat toilets, however few, prove
that some people choose squatting).

Besides, many traditional peoples would also choose (and indeed many have
chosen) modern foods--like sugar, candy, cookies, ice cream, pizza and fry
bread--rather than restrict themselves to a traditional diet, but that
doesn't make it optimally healthy. People don't always make healthy choices,
which is a fact we see played out in the many news reports about the growing
worldwide epidemic of obesity and chronic diseases. Each to their own.

> another option, oh.... I don't know... a toilet!

Marilyn and I were referring to squat *toilets*, which are toilets (that's
why they're called toilets :-) ). You can see images of several types here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_toilet. Since the billion-plus Chinese
use mostly squat toilets, it is probably still the most common type of
toilet used in the world today. My biggest problem with some foreign toilets
would be the unsanitary lack of toilet tissue or bidet to cleanse oneself
afterwards, rather than the squat style (the old Roman method of a water
source with wash bucket and/or jug is apparently still in use in parts of
the world--sorry, but that's not for me :-p ). There are some modern
innovations I do enjoy that seem to also make sense.

> ... as a former catcher (american game - baseball)

One reason catching is so difficult is you have to do what are essentially
squat-thrusts, popping up and down throughout the game. Also, one cannot
compare the rigors of catching a game for multiple hours with squatting for
a matter of minutes. Plus, catchers do more of a semi-raised crouch
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Baseball_catcher.jpg) than a squat
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1438/1246425651_8baf479c9c.jpg?v=0), leaning
a bit forward with one or both arms extended and tensing leg and arm muscles
to hold the position while waiting for the throw. If squatting were as tough
as playing catcher, I don't think the elderly gentleman in that second image
would squat-sit. :-)

> What I find most interesting about this, though, is that the kink in
> the
> so-called sigmoid colon supposedly straightens out more and allows for
> a
> fuller emptying of the bowels -- which, as the claim goes, is
> healthier. It
> seems to make sense....
> 
> Marilyn

Yes, it seems to make intuitively good sense.

> > Only in desperation while overseas in countries where the facilities
> only
> > cater to this method. I'm afraid I enjoy a good sit down for time
> > consuming eliminations. I suppose constipation would be another
> desperate
> > situation in which I might try that but I have the opposite problem.
> Let
> > us know if it is effective though.
> >
> > Leonie

Each to their own, of course, but time-consuming eliminations sounds like
constipation, which the squatting method might help with. Even if it's not
constipation, squatting is supposed to speed up elimination. There is a
win-win option: toilets that enable both throne sitting and squat sitting,
such as this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pedestal-squat-toilet.jpg.