Did you know?
As we are made up of around 65% water, we all know how important it is to keep ourselves healthy and hydrated, especially in the summer periods where the warm weather can even dehydrate us in our sleep. As any parent knows, getting children to drink enough water is certainly a difficult exercise. But as with any hard task, it is certainly worth doing as children need around 1.5 to 2 litres of water every single day (the equivalent of 6 to 8 glasses).
Another duty which is exclusively difficult is making sure that your children eat enough fruit and vegetables! Thanks to a recent study however, we now know that there is a specific link between how much water a child drinks and how much fruit and vegetables they eat. Thanks to a team of researchers from the University of Oregon, the study discovered that by serving a glass of water by the side of every meal encourages children to eat more healthily than if their food was served with for example, a glass of cola.
What the study found
By having a glass of water by the side of every meal associates within the mind of the child, water with healthy food. So, by associating a glass of water with healthy food, means that not only are they likely to eat more vegetables, but they have also to learnt that water goes with healthy food through association. As sugary and carbonated drinks are often associated with fast food, the more that a child drinks water with their meal, the more that they will form a healthier eating mindset.
During the study, researchers targeted a group of 75 preschool children who were observed eating their food with a combination of a glass of water Vs a glass of fizzy drink. The researchers then observed how much vegetables would then be consumed during each condition. As you can guess, once children were offered water, they would consume far more vegetables than if they had been offered the fizzy drink; all thanks to their learnt association with modern day eating habits.
Children drink water?
The only problem now is for the parents of children who don’t usually serve water during meal times. As children are quite methodical creatures, who don’t enjoy a broken routine, a parent may find it particularly tricky getting their child to enjoy a glass of water with every meal.
No matter though, as there are a range of techniques to get your child into enjoying the splendour of the most important liquid on the planet! For example, there are a range of healthy concentrates out there such as Robinsons or Ribena which can help make water fun. Of course, by drinking a glass of water with a meal yourself, you will be setting a great example to your children as well as possibly getting healthier yourself!
How much water do adults need?
As adults, we need one and a half to three litres of water a day, the equivalent to around six to eight medium glasses of water a day. The human body gains fluid from three main sources:
Drinks such as water or other beverages including tea, coffee and fruit juice.
Solid foods such as fruit and vegetables.
As a by-product of chemical reactions within the body.
You can judge how hydrated your body is by what colour urine is when you go to the toilet; the clearer your urine, the more hydrated you are. It is important to remember however, that warmer the weather gets this summer, the more water that you’ll need to drink!
