Fluid intake in Spanish children and adolescents; a cross-sectional study.

Juan Miguel Fenández-Alvira, Iris Iglesia, Cíntia Ferreira-Pêgo, Nancy Babio, Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Luis A Moreno

Introduction: Some studies demonstrated that dehydration process is prevalent among young populations and subsequently, a cause of concern. However, the evaluation of the fluid consumption pattern of children and adolescent populations has not been widely assessed. Objective: To evaluate the total fluid intake from different types of beverages in Spanish children and adolescents. Methods: A total of 238 children and adolescents aged 3-17 years were randomly recruited from all Spanish regions. The information about the quantity and quality of daily fluid intake from different types of beverages was collected using a 24 h fluid-specific diary over 7 consecutive days. Results: Fluid intake was < 80% of the EFSA recommendations in 87% of the study population. In our sample, water was the main contributor to fluid intake, followed by milk and derivates and sweet regular beverages. No differences in consumption patterns were found according to gender. Consumption of hot beverages as well as sweet regular and sweet light beverages increased with age, while milk and milk derivates consumption decreased. Conclusion: The large majority of our young population did not meet the EFSA recommendations for total water intake. Therefore, an increase in plain water consumption in children and adolescents should be promoted in order to fulfill the fluid needs without increasing calorie intake.