The Importance of Water for Optimum Health and Weight Loss

There is no doubt that drinking water is extremely important for maintaining overall health. Water is one of the major components of the human body. The amount of water in our body ranges from 50-75%, infants usually have a higher percentage.

Water helps:

• To get rid of waste particle and toxins from the body via urine or sweat.
• It maintains internal body temperature
• Water is important for metabolism, it acts as a medium for various chemical and enzymatic reaction
• It lubricates the joints and acts as a shock absorber for internal organs like the brain and spinal cord
• Water transports oxygen and nutrients throughout the body

Most of us think we drink enough water on a given day, the fact is we may not we may not. Most of the daily intake comes from food and beverages. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends for women at approximately 2.7 liters (91 ounces) of total water from all beverages and foods each day, and men an average of approximately 3.7 liters (125 ounces daily) of total water. Another way of calculating the total amount is- half of the body weight in ounces, so if someone is 200 lbs. he or she should drink at least 100 ounces of water in a given day.

Remember to adjust your daily water intake based on your physical activity, weather, and physical or medical condition. Pregnant and breastfeeding women need a higher intake. Someone who is vomiting or has diarrhea also needs to drink extra water to stay hydrated.

Water and weight loss

Here comes the big question: is there any relationship between water intake and weight loss? Michael Boschmann and his colleagues have shown that drinking 2 liters of water per day would augment energy expenditure by approximately 400 kJ (1). So, water increases metabolism which is helpful for weight loss. Another study has shown a direct correlation between intake of water and weight loss in 12 week period (2). A number of other studies have shown that water is a key component for maintenance of healthy body weight and weight loss (3, 4).

Bottom line is: stay hydrated, stay healthy.

References:

• Boschmann M¹, Steiniger J, Hille U, Tank J, Adams F, Sharma AM, Klaus S, Luft FC, Jordan J. Water-induced thermogenesis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Dec;88(12):6015-9.
• Peters JC¹, Wyatt HR, Foster GD, Pan Z, Wojtanowski AC, Vander Veur SS, Herring SJ, Brill C, Hill JO.The effects of water and non-nutritive sweetened beverages on weight loss during a 12-week weight loss treatment program. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2014 Jun;22(6):1415-21. doi: 10.1002/oby.20737.
• Stookey JD¹, Constant F, Popkin BM, Gardner CD.Drinking water is associated with weight loss in overweight dieting women independent of diet and activity. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2008 Nov;16(11):2481-8. doi: 10.1038/oby.2008.409. Epub 2008 Sep 11.
• Muckelbauer R, Sarganas G, Gruneis A, Muller-Nordhorn J. Association between water consumption and body weight outcomes: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(2):282-299.