Water and Weight Loss: Does Hydration Help You Slim Down?

No matter what diet a person chooses, the one piece of advice that is always offered is to drink a lot of water. Recent studies show that this bit of folk wisdom is true. Drinking water does help weight loss.

The Study

• A recent study done at Virginia Tech shows that drinking two 8-ounce glasses of water before meals aids weight loss. The study included two groups of adults between age 55 and 75 who adhered to a low-calorie diet throughout the study. One group drank water before meals and the other did not.

The Results

• After 12 weeks, the non-water drinkers lost 11 pounds, but the water drinkers lost even more, averaging 15.5 pounds. After the study, the water drinkers keep the weight off for a full year and many lost an additional pound or two.

Significance

• Senior author of the study, Brenda Davy, PhD, said, "People should drink more water and less sugary, high-calorie drinks. It's a simple way to facilitate weight management." The water fills up the stomach and people feel full so they eat less food. Davy recommends that women drink nine cups a day.