Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Corresponding Author: Barry M. Franklin St. This review attempts to provide some sense of our current knowledge of water including overall patterns of intake and some factors linked with intake, the complex mechanisms behind water homeostasis, the effects of variation in water intake on health and energy intake, weight, and human performance and functioning. Water represents a critical nutrient whose absence will be lethal within days.
Nevertheless, there are major gaps in knowledge related to measurement of total fluid intake, hydration status at the population level, and few longer-term systematic interventions and no published random-controlled longer-term trials. We suggest some ways to examine water requirements as a means to encouraging more dialogue on this important topic. Keywords: water, hydration, water intake, water measurement, recommended daily intake, water adequacy.
Water is essential for life. From the time that primeval species ventured from the oceans to live on land, a major key to survival has been prevention of dehydration.
The critical adaptations cross an array of species, including man. Without water, humans can survive only for days. Recent statements on water requirements have been based on retrospective recall of water intake from food and beverages among healthy non-institutionalized individuals.
We provide examples of water intake assessment in populations to clarify the need for experimental studies. Beyond these circumstances of dehydration, we do not truly understand how hydration affects health and well-being, even the impact of water intakes on chronic diseases. As we note later, few countries have developed water requirements and those that do base them on weak population-level measures of water intake and urine osmolality.
