AF HEALTH & FITNESS APRIL 2022
For a long time, drinking water has been thought to help with weight loss.
In fact, 30–59% of US adults who try to lose weight increase their water intake
Many studies show that drinking more water may benefit weight loss and maintenance.
Drinking water increases the amount of calories you burn, which is known as resting energy expenditure. In adults, resting energy expenditure has been shown to increase by 24–30% within 10 minutes of drinking water. This lasts at least 60 minutes.
Supporting this, one study of overweight and obese children found a 25% increase in resting energy expenditure after drinking cold water.
A study of overweight women examined the effects of increasing water intake to over 1 litre per day. They found that over a 12-month period, this resulted in an extra 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of weight loss. Since these women didn’t make any lifestyle changes except to drink more water, these results are very impressive.
Additionally, both of these studies indicate that drinking 0.5 litres of water results in an extra 23 calories burned. On a yearly basis, that sums up to roughly 17,000 calories — or over 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of fat.
Several other studies have monitored overweight people who drank 1-1.5 litres of water daily for a few weeks. They found a significant reduction in weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and body fat. These results may be even more impressive when the water is cold. When you drink cold water, your body uses extra calories to warm the water up to body temperature.
So how much water should you drink?
Many health authorities recommend drinking about 2 litres per day. However, this number is completely random. As with so many things, water requirements depend entirely on the individual. For example, people who sweat a lot or exercise regularly may need more water than those who are not very active.
Keep in mind that you also get water from many foods and beverages, such as coffee, tea, meat, fish, milk, and especially fruits and vegetables.
As a good rule of thumb, you should always drink water when you’re thirsty, and drink enough to quench your thirst. The majority of studies seem to support drinking between 1-2 litres of water per day.
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