ASSOCIATION BETWEEN WATER INTAKE AND ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY AMONG A SAMPLE POPULATION OF PAKISTANI DENTAL STUDENTS

Abstract

Background: Role of water is well known as an essential nutrient in human health. Lifestyle medicine researches have shown high prevalence of inadequate hydration habits globally. In this study, the relationship of daily water intake with anthropometric measurements in young adults of a particular geographical location were observed. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 259 undergraduate students of Islamic International Dental College (IIDC), from September 2021 to February 2022. To assess daily water intake, an online questionaire was filled, whereas anthropometric measurements were done according to the recommendations of the International Standards for Anthropometric Assessment. Associations of Body Mass Index (BMI) with Waist Circumference (WC), Waist/Hip Ratio (WHR), Abdominal Circumference (AC), and Daily Water Intake (DWI) were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. One-way ANOVA was also used to determine the relationship of DWI with BMI, WC, AC and WHR, and considered significant at p?0.05. Results: One-way ANOVA analysis showed statistically significant differences in the mean values of BMI (F=6.0, p=0.001) and WC (F=7.5, p<0.001) and no significant difference was found in the mean value of WHR (F=2.0, p=0.10) between the different DWI groups. Post hoc Tukey’s test followed by ANOVA revealed that BMI, WC, and WHR were statistically lower among students having adequate daily water intake (21.0±3.8 Kg/m2, p=0.001; 79.2±9.7 Cm, p<0.001; and 0.78±0.04, p=0.013 respectively). Conclusion: Significant association was found between adequate daily water intake and lower values of BMI, WC and WHR. Pak J Physiol 2022;18(4):14?7