Water: consumption; total water sources; and adequacy in terms of the recommended daily intakes in one‐day diet records of urban Guatemalan schoolchildren

Abstract

BackgroundThe US. Institute of Medicine developed DRIs for total daily water in 2005. Lack of specifying drinking water intake in most dietary surveys limits using this reference in population studies.AimTo quantify Total Daily Water Acquisition (TDWA) and its various individual and composite components.MethodsA field dietary survey in 449 3rd and 4th graders in Quetzaltenango, was conducted using 1‐d pictorial registries of all beverages and foods consumed over a 24‐h period. A nutrient database for 247 food and beverages items was created. All water sources, including plain, in beverages, and in foods (=Total Water Intake {TWI} of the 2005 DRI) were combined. Additionally, metabolic water (from the oxidation of macronutrients) was added for the TDWA calculation. Gender‐specific reference values for Adequate Intake of TWI for 9‐11 y/o children were used.Results28% of children consumed plain water; the average intake in this subgroup was 491±350 mL. Mean TWI was 1574±429 mL for girls and 1571±519 mL for boys, compared to the respective DRI AIs of 2100 and 2400 mL. Partitioned across the whole sample, the percent contributions to TDWA were: 6.9% plain water; 49.4%, beverages; 29.1%, foods; and 14.7%, metabolic water.ConclusionDaily water acquisition in these children was low, in part due to low participation in drinking plain water.Funded in part by Sight & Life, Basel and Nestlé Waters Co, Paris