American Children and Adolescents Are Dehydrated
Pamela A. Popper, President
Wellness Forum Health
According to a recent study, American children and teens do not consume enough water, which affects both their physical and mental health status. Harvard researchers analyzed data from 4,134 children and adolescents between ages 6 and 19 participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). About half the children were not taking in enough fluids of any type. Dehydration was 76.0% higher in boys than girls, and 34.0% higher in blacks than whites. Almost 25.0% of the kids reported drinking no water at all.
The bad news is that so many children are dehydrated. The good news is that this could be an easier problem to solve than many diet-related issues with children, since there is likely to be less controversy and argument about getting kids to drink more water. Here are a few ways in which kids could be helped to do better with minimal expense and disruption at school.
First, all children could be given water bottles at school. This would cost a small amount of money, but if budgets are so tight that schools cannot spend $1.00 per child to make sure water intake is adequate, perhaps the PTA could step in to help.
Second, children could be allowed to drink water during the school day. It is appalling to me the number of children of members of Wellness Forum Health who are forbidden to drink water during the school day, and also forbidden to use the restroom except at specified breaks like recess (I assume that the reason water drinking is prohibited is to lessen the number of times children need to use the restroom during the day). While there are many reasons to keep kids from running around the school building during the school day, stopping them from using the restroom is not one of them.
Third, water could be served with meals at school. While it would be great if water replaced milk, the milk lobby won’t let that happen anytime soon, so water in addition to milk would be a step in the right direction.
Fourth, water could replace caloric beverages like milk, soft drinks, and sports drinks in the vending machines. Some schools have already made this change. While schools have become reliant on revenue from vending machines, this does not mean that junk foods, including caloric beverages, need to be offered for sale.
Last but not least, coaches could encourage kids to drink more water and require water bottles at practice. While many coaches push protein and sports drinks, most coaches would agree that kids need to drink more water and that water drinking is a good habit to form.
The result of this focus on water would most likely carry over to home. Kids who become used to drinking water at school would most likely also do so at home, which might encourage parents to drink more water too.
Kenney E, Long M, Cradlock A, Gortmaker S. “Prevalence of Inadequate Hydration Among US Children and Disparities by Gender and Race/Ethnicity: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009–2012.” Am J Public Health. 2015 Aug;105(8):e113-118