All Articles

2012 Articles

2011 Articles

2010 Articles

2008 Articles

Why it's so important to keep our children hydrated?

27/02/2012 By Peter Brooks

There are some important differences to bear in mind when considering hydration in children and adults. Children are often far more active than adults and don’t spend as much time (if any) thinking about the benefits of drinking water and the dangers of dehydration.

Below is a list of facts that you may not know about dehydration in children.


  • Proportional to body weight children require more water than adults.

  • Children are more prone to the risks of dehydration because the mechanisms in their brain that tell them they’re thirsty are still immature. This means that by the time your child thinks they are thirsty they could already be dehydrated.

  • Just a 2% drop in hydration can produce a 20% drop in physical, mental and cognitive performance. Roughly translated this means that children who drink their recommended daily amount of water perform consistently better throughout the school day.

  • A recent study has suggested that dehydration in healthy adolescents can affect brain structure as well as brain function. Whilst the medical study of 16-18 year olds found no immediate short term impairment, performance for teenagers taking GCSE’s or A Levels over consecutive days was ‘significantly affected’.  

  • As much as 20% of daily intake of water can come from foods. Giving children high water content foods such as watermelon, cucumber, vegetables and yoghurt can help maintain their hydration levels as well as supplying them their daily nutrients and vitamins.

  • Two of the early warning signs of dehydration in children are irritability and fatigue. Recognising these signs in your child and making sure they take on water could prevent them becoming seriously dehydrated.

  • Recommended daily water intake for children is not set in stone, as it is effected by activity levels as well as exposure to sun, but as a rule should be about 6-8 glasses a day.

  • Water is the best form of hydration for children, as it contains no caffeine, sugar or additives. It is worth noting however that water is absorbed into the body very rapidly and this can effect receptors in the body called osmoreceptors which tell the brain that it’s thirsty. It’s therefore important to realise that children may not necessarily feel thirsty even when they are dehydrated.

 

The Telegraph has teamed up with leading UK bottled water producer Highland Spring, to promote hydration in children. Visit the website for a chance to win tickets to ATP World Tour Tennis Finals.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/sport/lta-mini-tennis/8848169/Healthy-hydration-advice.html



© 2012 Office Water Coolers

Bookmark and Share


Recent Articles

An Improving Environmental Footprint for the Bottled Water Industry

Consider this; recycling a single large plastic bottle (made from PET) conserves enough energy to light a 60 watt bulb for 6 hours. The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) reported that in 2010 1.5 billion pounds of PET was recycled in America.  Recycled PET (rPET) can be made into all sorts of things like car parts, playground equipment, carpet or even clothing. Now consider this; in America (and I daresay the figures are not that dissimilar in the UK) plastic bottles ...
read more

Strong Performance for UK Bottled Water in 2011

Good news for the bottled water industry as it reports a 2.8% increase in sales in 2011 (1.8 billion litres). As an industry that employs two thousand people it is good news in these economically trying times as the UK officially enters a double dip recession. So with unemployment remaining high and when people are cutting back on so much, saving their pennies, why does the bottled water industry grow when compared to 2010. Well it seems there are a lot of other factors at play. UK households ...
read more

Venezuela’s President Announces Price Caps on Bottled Water

Flamboyant Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, has started announcing more price caps as part of his government’s Law of Fair Prices, passed back in November 2011. The law was designed to limit what is seen as excessive profiteering on 19 household goods and groceries but is now being expanded as the government announce new prices for different products and it is starting with bottled water and deodorant. The books of over 16,000 companies have been examined by the Venezuelan government so far ...
read more

Polyethylene terephthalate

What is polyethylene terephthalate? Well chances are you’ve encountered it already today if you’ve swigged from a bottle of water or any of a whole range of bottled drinks. Abbreviated to PET, polyethylene terephthalate is probably most associated with the packaging for plastic bottles due to its properties as an excellent and durable barrier material. The thermoplastic polymer is part of the polyester family and can exist in both amorphous (transparent) and as a semicrystalline polymer which ...
read more