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Children in France arrive at school dehydrated, says Nestlé
In France, 62.2% of children aged between nine and 11 arrive at school in the morning with a hydration deficit, according to a Nestlé survey carried out in March 2010 on a sample of 529 French school children.
Nestlé Waters France launched a survey on French school children aged between nine and 11 to find out if children were properly hydrated before going to school. This was the first survey of its kind, since there was no information on the hydration status of French school children, Nestlé said.
The survey consisted in taking a urine sample at least 30 minutes after breakfast to measure urine osmolality. A questionnaire established the type and quantity of foods and drinks consumed during breakfast.
The purpose of these measurements was to investigate the hydration status of a sample of children based on urine osmolality in the morning and analysing the correlation between this urine osmolality and the food and drinks consumed.
The average age of the children was nine and a half, with an almost equal number of girls and boys. Based on criteria published by the International Obesity Task Force, 27.7% of the children were overweight and 5.5% obese.
While the majority (90%) of the children had eaten breakfast, 10% had consumed nothing (foods and drinks). Breakfast was balanced and mostly consisted of carbohydrates and a variety of drinks including water.
Almost two thirds (62.2%) of the children in the survey had a hydration deficit, reflected by urine osmolality of more than 800mOsmol/kg of water. This deficit concerned boys (72.5%) more than girls (51.6%).
The majority of the children (73.5%) had drunk less than 400ml of fluids (water and other drinks) at breakfast and had a higher risk of high urine osmolality after breakfast. The study concluded that the volume of fluids consumed at breakfast is insufficient to maintain adequate hydration throughout the morning until lunchtime.
This survey reveals for the first time that around two thirds of French children aged nine to 11 have a hydration deficit when they go to school, despite having breakfast. The amount of fluids consumed at breakfast is not sufficient to ensure good hydration throughout the morning, hence the need for an additional fluid intake before lunchtime.
Source: Nestlé Waters
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