Does drinking water contribute to weight loss?

There are many people who often hear that they should drink a lot of water to lose weight. But how much evidence is there on this issue?

Water is not only a liquid that makes us not feel thirsty, but it is also essential for our body to transport nutrients or remove what the body does not need. According to some studies, an adult should drink about 1.5L of water per day so that the body can perform this function.

But how has drinking water been associated with dieting and weight loss?

A study on obese women has shown that water instead of a drink with sugar has helped in weight loss and this is because water helps in carbohydrate metabolism and it improves insulin resistance. On the other hand, there are limited studies that high water intake equates to weight loss automatically, especially long term. Even if you were to replace a sugary drink with one without sugar, it does mean that you get less calorie intake.

In a study, it has been shown that those who had started a diet and drank a lot of water had some results in weight loss or stability, but a large proportion of people with a mixed weight that took part in the study showed no change.

The conclusion is that since there is not much evidence in this matter, one must think that what one consumes in calories as a whole is what changes the body weight. Choosing water instead of a sweetened drink for the next meal should help your body in various functions without giving you a calorie surplus, but drinking 1.5L of water per day without having a balanced approach to diet does not produce results in itself.

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Muckelbauer R, Sarganas G, Grüneis A, Müller-Nordhorn J. Association between water consumption and body weight outcomes: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Aug;98(2):282-99. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.055061. Epub 2013 Jun 26. PMID: 23803882.