Water as cornerstone of weight-loss diet

•Obese people are ‘less likely to be well hydrated’

Fad diets, weight-loss surgery and hypnotherapy – all are touted as solutions to the ever-spiraling obesity crisis.

But, a new piece of research, published Tuesday, suggests the answer may be much more simple.

The potential secret weapon in the fight against the burgeoning waistline of society, could be water.

Researchers found obese people and those with higher body mass indexes (BMI) are more likely to be inadequately hydrated.

And, furthermore, the findings published Tuesday in the Annals of Family Medicine found slimmer individuals are more likely to be well hydrated.

Dr. Tammy Chang, an assistant professor in the department of family medicine at the University of Michigan’s Medical School, said: “The link between hydration and weight is not clear.

“Our study further explains this relationship on a population level using an objective measure of hydration.”

Although the correlation does require further probing, Chang said hydration is increasingly being considered as a cornerstone of a weight-loss diet. “We often hear recommendations that drinking water is a way to avoid overeating because you may be thirsty rather than hungry,” she said.

Chang and her colleagues examined a nationally representative sample of 9,528 adults from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survery (NHANES). Roughly one in three of the adults, who were aged 18 to 64, were found to be inadequately hydrated.

The study suggests that people with higher BMIs – who are expected to have higher water needs – might also demonstrate behaviors that lead to inadequate hydration.

The authors note that because the data is cross-sectional, they cannot say that inadequate hydration causes obesity or the other way around.