July 25, 2017 – Nearly a third of U.S. adults are not hydrated enough, and poorer adults as well as Black and Hispanic adults are at higher risk for poor hydration than wealthier and white adults, according to a new study from Harvard T.H.
Chan School of Public Health.
“Because poor hydration status may negatively affect cognitive functioning, mood, and well-being, disparities in hydration status could lead to disparities in overall well-being and daily functioning,” said lead author Carolyn Brooks, a doctoral candidate in the Social and Behavioral Sciences and Nutrition Departments at the Harvard Chan School.
They used urine osmolality—a measure of how concentrated a person’s urine is—to determine whether or not participants were adequately hydrated.
Then they looked at whether participants’ consumption of tap water and other drinks helped explain their hydration status—and whether differences in tap water consumption might explain the worse hydration status outcomes among Black, Hispanic, and low-income adults.
Non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics were 40% more likely to be inadequately hydrated compared with non-Hispanic White adults, the researchers found.
Tap water intake, which was lower among Blacks, Hispanics, and those with lower incomes, partially explained the racial/ethnic differences in hydration status.
“These findings highlight the importance of having access to healthy beverages for public health,” said senior author Erica Kenney, a research associate in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard Chan School.
While more research is needed, our study suggests that there are social inequities in hydration status—and ultimately wellbeing—that mirror these inequities in safe water access.” Other Harvard Chan School authors of the study included Steven Gortmaker, professor of the practice of health sociology and Angie Cradock, senior research scientist and deputy director of the Harvard Prevention Research Center.
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