The drink that causes a stir

Water is the planet's healthiest and most popular drink. Apart from its known benefits, its reputation as a weapon in the fight against unwanted weight is also growing.

Water is probably be an effective weapon in losing unwanted weight. This is not exactly a new idea, but scientists have only recently begun to properly investigate water as a weight loss aid.

On the face of it, the facts in favour of water seem obvious:

* Drinking water makes you feel full, thus reducing your appetite

* It helps reduce your intake of high-kilojoule foods

* It serves as a substitute specifically for sweetened, kiljoule-containing beverages such as carbonated cool drinks

* It contains no kilojoules in itself

* It aids your body's burning of kilojoules

* It seems to increase your appetite for fruit and vegetables

* It is cheap, easily accessible and only has side-effects in extreme cases

* Apart from weight loss, water is of almost countless benefit to your health in general.

Surprisingly, it was only in August 2010 that serious research confirmed what most people had suspected: Water can be a powerful weight loss weapon. A group of scientists including dr. Brenda Davy, associate professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, presented the results of their research to the American Chemical Society (ACS).

"We are presenting the results of the first randomized, controlled-intervention trial demonstrating that increased water consumption is an effective weight loss strategy," Davy told the ACS. "We found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals three times per day lost about 5 pounds (roughly 2,3kg) more than dieters who did not increase their water intake."

That might sound very technical, but Davy has very clear advice on the subject: “People should drink more water and less sugary, high-calorie (high-kilojoule) drinks. It’s a simple way to facilitate weight management.”

Following this, the obvious question is: How much water should you drink every day, be it to lose weight or just because it's good for you?

A healthy level of water intake depends on variables such as your health, your level of activity and the weather. Still, here's a useful general rule: Divide your weight (in kilograms) by 30 to find your water intake per day in litres. Someone weighing 80kg would therefore need to drink about 2,7 litres of water per day -- more than that if the weather is hot or if you've been more active than usual.

Don't believe the story that "they" say you should drink 8 or 9 litres a day. There is no scientific basis for drinking that much water.

The best approach is to drink water consistently throughout the day, and especially before meals. And remember: Fluids containing alcohol or caffeine cause dehydration, which counteracts the positive effect of water. So cut down on those or compensate by drinking even more water.