publication date: Oct 5, 2010
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author/source: Emma Derbyshire
Children are at greater risk of
dehydration than adults due to their
lower body weight and smaller reserve of
body fluids. Equally, whilst
adults often have
easy access to a supply of
water, children tend to
rely on their
caregivers to provide drinks and often
don't recognise the early stages of
thirst.
Research suggests that just a
one to two per cent body weight loss can lead to
significant reductions in concentration and
mental performance. As a
child's body is around
60 per cent water, it is important to keep them topped up with
fluid during the day.
The effect of
dehydration on mental function is
not very well known about in children.
Recent research showed that children offered
extra water reported
less thirst and
performed better when visual attention
tasks were carried out. This suggests that
children's mental performance can be
improved when they drink
more water. There is an
important message for schools since it is often
difficult for children to
access water throughout the day.
Teachers may need to be convinced about the
positive role that adequate
hydration plays in maintaining
normal attention span and performance in
schoolchildren. Regular consumption of sugar
sweetened beverages, including fruit juice drinks, has been linked to
excess weight gain and obesity in children.
The School Food Trust aims to encourage
healthy hydration habits in children. They
recommend that schools serve only plain,
natural drinks such as water, milk and pure
fruit/vegetable juices.
In summary,
water is one of the
most natural, healthy beverages that children can drink.
Encouraging children to quench their
thirst with
water before offering other types of beverages will help children to
develop a taste for water. This is the
first step towards developing
lifelong healthy preferences. Choosing to
offer water instead of calorie-laden
soft drinks can also help children to maintain a
healthy body weight as they grow, as well as
preventing dental decay and erosion. It is important that
parents and
care-givers make sure that young children are offered
sufficient amounts of water to maintain
optimal hydration. Parents of
schoolchildren should encourage them to make use of any
water supplied at school in order to support their children's
mental performance during the day.
Top tips:- Children should aim to hydrate healthily with plain, natural drinks that are unsweetened and free from additives.
- Limit empty calories by putting a bottle of water in lunchboxes instead of a sugary drink.
- Parents and other caregivers should offer younger children drinks on a regular basis and actively encourage consumption.
- Children should aim to have six to eight drinks per day which should ideally be water, milk or fruit/vegetable juices.
- Children taking part in sports need to replenish the lost fluids by drinking more water.
