Dr Laurent Le Bellego, chairman of the European Federation of Bottled Waters Health Group, chaired the symposium entitled, Guidelines for Adequate Water Intake: A Public Health Rationale. It featured presentations from Professor Lawrence Armstrong, Dr Stavros Kavouras and Dr Harris Lieberman.
The need for adequate water intake in the public health sector was discussed by each speaker, touching on existing and current scientific research as to the effects of dehydration on the average consumer.
Opening the symposium, Dr Le Bellego highlighted the EFSA scientific opinion on Dietary Reference Values for Water released in 2010, which recommends that on average 1.6 litres per day of water should be consumed by women and up to 2 litres per day for men. He also emphasised that these adequate water intake levels were a basis for setting the condition of use of the health claims related to water which were recently approved by the European Commission.
Professor Armstrong spoke on Establishing International Guidelines for Adequate Water Intake. He noted the large differences between water intake recommendations throughout the world and provided background information on the reasons for those variations. He pointed out the need to take the target population into account for setting adequate water intake, and from this perspective he acknowledged the work done by EFSA as published in 2010. He mentioned that, for the first time, a physiological parameter such as urine osmolality was taken as a factor in the establishment of the adequate water intakes.
Dr Stavros Kavouras presented on the scientific background of the European health claims: water intake is essential for the maintenance of normal physical function and thermoregulation – a scientific review. Dr Kavouras noted that the sensation of thirst is a key instinct in body fluid homeostasis. Considering exercise performance and its relation to healthy hydration, he said: “Dehydrated people have a lot higher body temperature than normal. If we look at the active population, people that walk and cycle, and the athletic population that undertake intense training, their body temperature is significantly higher when they are dehydrated.”
He noted how hypo-hydration decreases exercise performance in hot environments, provoking increased strain on the body. Kavouras compared recent scientific studies on sports, such as uphill cycling and basketball, with current publications on avoiding dehydration at -2% of body mass while exercising.
Dr Harris Lieberman presented Water Intake is Essential for the Maintenance of Normal Cognitive Function – a Scientific Review. He commented on two recent studies conducted at the University of Connecticut to address the effects of mild dehydration on cognitive function in both men and women. These studies found that women were more greatly affected by dehydration than men, with women reporting headaches and confusion while being mildly dehydrated.
Dr Lieberman concluded: “Our studies suggest that it is important for women at relatively low levels of dehydration to regain hydration to avoid subtle symptoms such as a minor headache. Mood and cognitive state are greatly affected if sufficient levels of hydration are not maintained.”
Source: www.efbw.org
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024