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Influence of water drinking on resting energy expenditure in overweight children

International Journal of Obesity volume 35, pages 1295–1300 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background:

It was previously demonstrated that drinking water significantly elevates the resting energy expenditure (REE) in adults, and that low water intake is associated with obesity and lesser success in weight reduction. This study addressed the potential of water drinking to increase the REE in children, as an additional tool for weight management.

Objective:

To examine the effect of drinking water on the REE of overweight children.

Design:

A total of 21 overweight, otherwise-healthy children (age 9.9±1.4 years, 11 males) drank 10 ml kg−1 cold water (4 °C). REE was measured before and after water ingestion, for 66 min. The main outcome measure was the change in mean REE from baseline values.

Results:

Immediately after drinking water, there was a transient decrease in REE, from a baseline value of 3.32±1.15 kilojoule (kJ) per min to 2.56±0.66 kJ per min at minute 3 (P=0.005). A subsequent rise in REE was then observed, which was significantly higher than baseline after 24 min (3.89±0.78 kJ/min (P=0.021)), and at most time points thereafter. Maximal mean REE values were seen at 57 min after water drinking (4.16±1.43 kJ per min (P=0.004)), which were 25% higher than baseline. REE was significantly correlated with age, height, weight and fat-free mass; the correlations with maximal REE values after water drinking were stronger than with baseline REE values.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrated an increase of up to 25% in REE following the drinking of 10 ml kg−1 of cold water in overweight children, lasting for over 40 min. Consuming the recommended daily amount of water for children could result in an energy expenditure equivalent to an additional weight loss of about 1.2 kg per year. These findings reinforce the concept of water-induced REE elevation shown in adults, suggesting that water drinking could assist overweight children in weight loss or maintenance, and may warrant emphasis in dietary guidelines against the obesity epidemic.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Dr Nira Koren-Morag for the statistical analysis.

Author information

Author notes

  1. G Dubnov-Raz and N W Constantini: These authors contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exercise, Nutrition and Lifestyle Clinic, The Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel

    G Dubnov-Raz

  2. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, ‘Hadassah Optimal’ Sport Medicine Center, Hadassah- Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

    N W Constantini & S Nice

  3. School of Nutritional Sciences, The Robert H Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel

    H Yariv

  4. Center for Nutritional Research, Beilinson Campus, Rabin Medical Center, Petah-Tikva, Israel

    N Shapira

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  1. G Dubnov-Raz
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  2. N W Constantini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G Dubnov-Raz.

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Competing interests

The ventilating hood used in this study was purchased using funding from Mey Eden (‘Eden Springs’) Mineral Water Company (Bnei Brak, Israel). Hadas Yariv was employed by Mey Eden (‘Eden Springs’) Mineral Water Company at the time of the study and this work was part of her Master's thesis. All other authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Dubnov-Raz, G., Constantini, N., Yariv, H. et al. Influence of water drinking on resting energy expenditure in overweight children. Int J Obes 35, 1295–1300 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2011.130

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