A new Consensus Statement puts forward a definition of ‘gut health’ in an attempt to bring some clarity and consistency to a term that is widely used but often ill-defined and vague.

There has been an increased awareness across societies of the importance of gastrointestinal health to overall well-being. In part, this change has been driven by key scientific discoveries regarding the involvement of the gut microbiota in a wide range of physiological processes. However, the term ‘gut health’, or what is meant by a healthy gastrointestinal system, is often used in a vague and ill-defined manner. Clinicians, researchers, industry, regulators, the media and the general public could benefit from greater precision regarding the concept and definition of gut health.

“the term ‘gut health’ … is often used in a vague and ill-defined manner”

In this issue, a Consensus Statement by Maria Marco and colleagues posits a formal definition of gut health. In 2024, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology attended as an observer a full-day workshop in London, UK, which led to the development of the definition. The international panel of 13 experts, which was convened by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), defined gut health as “a state of normal gastrointestinal function without active gastrointestinal disease and gut-related symptoms that affect quality of life”. Notably, the researchers specify an absence of active disease, instead of disease itself, as part of the definition. Their definition also combines an individual’s subjective experience with objective gut function measures.

In addition to proposing a definition of gut health, the Consensus Statement also provides a comprehensive overview of the functional domains of gut health (encompassing digestive physiology, gut microbiome, gut barrier, immune function, metabolism and the gut–brain axis) as well as clinically relevant metrics to assess these domains.

In an associated News & Views commentary also published in this issue, Benjamin Mullish discusses the consensus definition as advancing the field as well as having some potential limitations. Mullish highlights some open questions for further discussion, regarding whether, for example, risk factors and geography should influence the definition. “Given that the burden and character of digestive diseases is affected by factors including biogeography and sex, do such factors affect gut health as well?” asks Mullish. “How do we meaningfully evaluate this globally when gut health has been conventionally considered in Western literature only?”

We hope that this Consensus Statement, which along with the News & Views commentary is featured in our online Article Series on ‘Nutrition’ (launched in 2025 (ref. 1)), will prompt debate and discussion regarding the concept of gut health and that the definition will help the research community in contexts such as the design of studies assessing therapeutics aimed at improving gut health, for example, dietary interventions and microbiome-based therapies such as probiotics or prebiotics. In addition, as awareness of and interest in the concept of gastrointestinal health grows across the general population, it is all the more important that clinicians, researchers, journal editors and other stakeholders in the gastroenterology community develop a consistent framework for discussing gut health.