2010-08-25

Lose Weight by Drinking Water

Trying to lose weight? Drink more water


Researchers found that drinking two glasses of water before each meal may help dieters lose weight and keep it off.


Drinking Water Before Meals Helps Weight Loss

(CBS)  Drinking two glasses of water before each meal may help you lose weight, according to a new study presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, Health.com reports.

Obese dieters who drank two 8-ounce glasses of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner lost five pounds more than dieters who didn't increase their water intake. Those who drank more water also kept more of the weight off after a year, said Brenda Davy, an associate professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.


Clinical trial confirms effectiveness of simple appetite control method


“We are presenting results of the first randomized controlled intervention trial demonstrating that increased water consumption is an effective weight loss strategy,” said Brenda Davy, Ph.D., senior author on the study. “We found in earlier studies that middle aged and older people who drank two cups of water right before eating a meal ate between 75 and 90 fewer calories during that meal. In this recent study, we found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake.”


Drinking more water before meals can help
promote weight loss.

“People should drink more water and less sugary, high-calorie drinks. It’s a simple way to facilitate weight management.”

Davy pointed out that folklore and everyday experience long have suggested that water can help promote weight loss. But there has been surprisingly little scientific information on the topic. Previous studies hinted that drinking water before meals reduces intake of calories. Lacking until now, however, has been the “gold-standard” evidence from a randomized, controlled clinical trial that compares weight loss among dieters who drink water before meals with those who do not.

The study included 48 adults aged 55-75 years, divided into two groups. One group drank 2 cups of water prior to their meals and the other did not. All of the subjects ate a low-calorie diet during the study. Over the course of 12 weeks, water drinkers lost about 15.5 pounds, while the non-water drinkers lost about 11 pounds.

Davy said water may be so effective simply because it fills up the stomach with a substance that has zero calories. People feel fuller as a result, and eat less calorie-containing food during the meal. Increased water consumption may also help people lose weight if they drink it in place of sweetened calorie-containing beverages, said Davy, who is with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.



Brenda Davy

Associate Professor

Research

Improving health behaviors: diet, physical activity, and weight management; Appetite control and food intake regulation; Beverage consumption and weight management; Dietary intake assessment.



Sources
Trying to lose weight? Drink more water - CNN.com
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/23/drink.water.lose.weight/?hpt=Sbin#fbid=75_9at2LgRX&wom=false
Drinking Water Before Meals Helps Weight Loss - CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/23/health/main6798331.shtml
Clinical trial confirms effectiveness of simple appetite control method
http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=222&content_id=CNBP_025391&use_sec=true&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=a733bd09-2fc8-403a-86ee-14ba49cf353d
Brenda Davy | Virginia Tech
http://www.hnfe.vt.edu/about_US/Bios_faculty/bio_davy_brenda.html

Related
Drink Water Before Meals, Lose Weight - CBS News Video
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6800561n&tag=related;photovideo
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise | Virginia Tech
http://www.hnfe.vt.edu/
Clinical trial confirms effectiveness of simple appetite control method | Virginia Tech News | Virginia Tech
http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2010/08/082310-cals-davy.html
Study Finds Water Helps Weight Loss | keyc.tv
http://www.keyc.com/node/41019
Six glasses of water a day makes you slim - mirror.co.uk
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/08/24/six-glasses-of-water-a-day-makes-you-slim-115875-22509617/

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