Obesity: Better hydration may help weight loss

Stockholm, Sweden, March 4, 2020 – Drinking enough water may be a potential secret weapon in tackling the global obesity problem, says Bluewater, a world leading water purification brand.

With worldwide obesity tripling since 1975, Bluewater cites a University of Michigan study indicating that people who are obese and have a higher body mass index (BMI) are more likely to be inadequately hydrated and vice versa.

“Over 1.9 billion people in 2016 were overweight, with around 650 million obese, a disease many experts consider preventable,” says Dave Noble, communications director at Bluewater, speaking on World Obesity Day.

Noble noted that overweight and obesity are linked to more deaths worldwide than underweight. And WHO says being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases like heart disease and stroke, diabetes, osteoarthritis and some cancers.

The study, published in Annals of Family Medicine, looked at a nationally representative sample of 9,528 adults from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Roughly a third of the adults, who spanned ages 18 to 64, were inadequately hydrated.

Lead study author Tammy Chang, M.D., MPH, MS, an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the U-M Medical School said “staying hydrated is good for you no matter what, and our study suggests it may also be linked to maintaining a healthy weight.”

So how much should people drink to stay properly hydrated?

Bluewater believes individual water intake depends on factors such as body weight, how much you sweat, and how often you exercise. Because adequate hydration depends on each individual’s bodyweight, one rule of thumb is to daily drink approximately half of your body weight measured in ounces of water (or the equivalent in kilos). 

How does this work? A person weighing 150 pounds (almost 70 kilos) should be drinking around 77 fluid ounces per day (ie, their weight of 150 pounds is divided by 2 to give approximately 76 ounces to drink, which is around 2.3 liters) per day.

“The advice for achieving a healthier weight often embraces carbs, fats and proteins as well as regular exercise, but water could be a potential secret weapon,” said Dave Noble.

For more information, please contact Dave Noble, head of communications, at david.noble@bluewatergroup.com or +44 7785 302 694.