Drinking water to enhance weight loss
During the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, researchers from Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, reported that increasing water intake is an effective way to lose weight.
First, the details.
- 48 adults were randomly assigned to a treatment group for 12 weeks.
- Water drinkers drank 2, 8-ounce cups of water just before they started to eat each meal.
- Non-water drinkers did not.
- Both groups ate a low-calorie diet during the of the study.
And, the results.
- The water drinkers lost an average of 16 pounds (7 kg) while the non-water drinkers lost 11 pounds (5 kg).
- Middle aged and older people consumed between 75 and 90 fewer calories per meal if they drank two cups of water just before they started eating.
The bottom line?
The authors concluded that drinking water before the meal works because it has zero calories, “but you have the sensation of feeling partly full before you even start eating, resulting in fewer calories consumed during the meal.”
This is not the first time this approach to weight reduction has been reported. And it may not be necessary to actually eat less food.
Last year, researchers from Boston and New York calculated the caloric effect and concluded that replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water is associated with reductions in total calories.
8/26/10 21:41 JR