• The study included 5,600 people from 26 nations.
• Newborns replace about 28% of their body water daily.
• Men drink around a half-litre more water per day than women.

We’ve all been told to drink water every day. New research suggests that eight cups a day is too much.
Variation in human water turnover connected with environmental and lifestyle factors. It emphasises how climate and population changes may make it harder to manage human water needs.

The study included 5,600 people from 26 nations. Researchers gave participants 100 millilitres of ‘doubly labelled water’ containing 5% deuterium, a stable isotope of hydrogen. It’s natural and completely safe. The rate of deuterium elimination shows how fast the body changes its water. Higher water turnover requires increased water use.

20- to 30-year-old men and women had the largest water turnover, which fell after 40 for men and 65 for women. Newborns replace about 28% of their body water daily. Men drink around a half-litre more water per day than women.

The researchers said, “The current study clearly indicates that one size does not fit all for drinking water guidelines, and the common suggestion that we should drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day is not backed up by objective evidence.”

Sedentary people in wealthy countries with climate-controlled indoor environments have lower water turnover than manual labourers or hunter-gatherers in poor countries.

“Improved guidelines are of increasing importance because of the explosive population growth and climate change the world currently faces, which will affect the availability of water for human consumption,” the researchers said.

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