Getting kids to drink more water at school may prevent excess weight gain
BOSTON - A new study published in the journal Pediatrics finds that a school-based program that encourages children to drink more water may help prevent excess weight gain over time.
The Water First program provides classroom lessons, tap water stations, and schoolwide water promotion over an entire school year. In this study, a team at Stanford University studied more than 1,200 fourth-graders from 18 schools in California's Bay Area and found that the percentage of kids who were overweight 15 months later held steady amongst those exposed to the Water First program, but rose by nearly 4 percent at schools without the program.
This suggests that providing kids with clean, readily available water and encouraging them to drink it may help prevent additional weight gain in these children.