We all know that drinking plenty of water throughout the day can have many health benefits because we are constantly being educated by television campaigns and stories in the media, but do children know just how important it is to drink lots of water?

Quite often the need to educate young people on the benefits of drinking water has been overlooked in the past but more recently more schools are readily buying systems that will allow children to actively reach for a glass of water at any point during the school day.

Because children have smaller bodies, they need to consume more water than the average adult, something which might come as a surprise to many people. Water is one of the most important and essential nutrients for children, and not by means of fizzy pop.

Recent studies have shown that the more a child drinks throughout the day, the better the performance in the classroom. Dehydration in children leads to a reduction in both mental and physical condition which effects concentration, eventually leading to poorer results in class and vital tests throughout the school life.

Children are at a greater risk of dehydration generally because they are more active and lose water at a quicker rate than most adults. With physically activity now a major part of any curriculum, allowing children to drink plenty of water after gym class is essential because the thirst mechanisms are not fully formed, meaning the signs of dehydration many not appear until they are already dehydrated, which in turn is unhealthy.

Some schools as well as buying bottled water are also supplying water bottles that can be personalised to the school and the individual child; these can be bought from a range of companies all over the UK and supplied at a reasonable price.

Another massive change in recent years in the introduction of flavoured water as an alternative to the fizzy pop can. Now that children have the option to drink water that has some flavour there has been a significant rise in consumption.

Fizzy drinks are packed full of calories and have played a massive part in child obesity which is currently an issue among children today. By replacing some of the fizzy cans children drink and replacing it with a flavoured water alternative, it could help reduce cases of child obesity and generally improve the health of many children.

So how much water do children need to drink on average? As a general rule the body is made up of 60 to 70 per cent water, which is a good indication of how vital water is to sustain health. It is recommended that adults drink around two litres of water a day but in children it is much more. It is true to say that the smaller the child the more water they need to consume. A boy aged between 11 and 14 should drink at least 3.3 litres of water a day with girls needing 2.8 litres a day.

It has shown in recent surveys that as much as 65 per cent of children don’t drink enough water.

So the only sure way to improve the health of children and make sure they are performing better in the classroom is the educate them and encourage them to drink plenty of water and for schools to supply clean fresh drinking water, preferably from a bottled water system that is available all day every day.

Author Bio: John K Murphy – Commercial Director – Providing information and advice on the health and lifestyle benefits of drinking water. Further information on bottled water, water cooler and mains fed water feel free to visit our website or call us on 0845 370 1177 or email us Email: enquiries@angelsprings.com

Category: Food and Drinks
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