Water Intake Tied To Increased Weight Loss

A new review of several prior studies finds that drinking more water when dieting may increase weight loss. Researchers at the Berlin School of Public Health in Germany, compared eleven previous studies on weight and water consumption. Three of the studies tied increased water intake to enhanced weight loss. One study found that women who increased their daily water consumption while dieting, lost more weight than those who drank less than a liter a day. Another found that participants who drank an extra two cups of water before a meal lost an average of four pounds more than a group that didn't. Still, researchers said there is not enough evidence to say for certain that drinking more water increases weight loss and it’s unclear how the increased water consumption might help dieters. The review authors speculated that the water provides a feeling of fullness, leading dieters to reduce their caloric intake. It’s also possible that the additional water increases the energy expenditure of the body; an idea called "water-induced thermogenesis." However, the researchers pointed out that the studies didn’t always show that people who drank more water necessarily weighed less. Some of the studies indicated that obese or overweight individuals drank more water than their thinner counterparts. Ultimately the review’s authors recommended larger experiments to examine water’s potential benefits while dieting.