Do you ever feel like you never make your water intake target? Well fear not, a new study has actually found that the universal recommendation of two litres may be too much.
Earlier research into water recommendations used surveys with only small samples of people. However new research included 5,604 people from 23 different countries, aged between eight days and 96 years old from around the globe.
They measured individual water intake by the rate of elimination of a stable isotope element called deuterium which was included in the water that people in the study drank. People with a higher water turnover usually need to drink more water.
The research found that those living in hot and humid environments and at high altitudes and athletes and pregnant and breastfeeding women needed to drink more water.
Energy expenditure is the biggest factor in water turnover. The highest values were observed in men aged 20-35, who turned over an average of 4.2 litres per day. However, there is even more to consider…even if you turn over 4.2 litres of water, you don’t need to drink this much, as you can get some of your water intake from food. Even if an average male in his 20s turned over 4.2 litres of water, his actual required intake would be about 3.6 litres.
Women aged 20-40 averaged a turnover of 3.3 litres, which also declined to 2.5 litres by the age of 90.
The study shows that the common suggestion that we should all be drinking eight glasses of water is probably too high for most people in most situations. Even though we may not need to hit the two-litre mark, many people still find that they do not drink enough water during the day.
As with all nutritional recommendations, there is no, one-size fits all approach. It’s no surprise that here at Alyve we believe personalisation for nutritional recommendations is always necessary!
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