BMI & Water Consumption

”Drinking water to shed weight is a waste of time”, is the headline in the Daily Mail. Research has found that drinking water, in particular the recommended eight glasses a day, to keep slim is a waste of time as it does not help you shed the pounds. People could be better off “eating foods rich in water, such as fruit, vegetables, rice, soups and casseroles”, the newspaper says.
The study involved more than 1,000 young women whose weight and waist measurement was compared with the amount of water that they drank each day. The study found no link between body size and fluids drunk, but there was a link with the water content of foods eaten. However, the study took place in a group of healthy Japanese women of normal weight who were not dieting. Diet and exercise are always going to have the greatest effect on body weight and adequate intake of water and other fluids throughout the day is necessary for the health of the body.
Where did the story come from?
Kentaro Murakami and colleagues of University of Tokyo, Wayo Women’s University and Kagawa Nutrition University, Japan, carried out this research. No sources of funding were reported for this study. The study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal: Nutrition.
What kind of scientific study was this?
This was a cross-sectional study examining the association between water intake (consumed in both beverages and in foods) and waist circumference and BMI in a sample of women. The researchers recruited 1,176 female dietetic students (aged 18 to 22) from academic institutions across Japan. They excluded those with very low or very high daily energy intakes, those currently receiving dietary counselling and those with diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, leaving a total of 1,136 women.
The researchers looked at dietary intake over a month using a questionnaire that assessed the consumption of different foods, alcoholic drinks and dietary supplements and also looked at the cooking methods. The average daily intake for a total of 150 food and drink items was estimated, and then the overall water intake was worked out by adding together all beverages and the water content of different foods. Height and weight were measured and the BMI calculated, and waist circumference was also measured. The participants also completed a lifestyle questionnaire that looked at demographic details, including smoking, physical activity and weight loss aims. Statistical methods were used to look at the relationship between BMI and waist circumference and the water consumed.