Drink more water, Rotherham residents told

That’s the intriguing health message offered Rotherham residents this week.

But there’s a catch — it’s water, not beer or wine, you should be drinking more of.

Yorkshire Water commissioned a survey with found Rotherham folk drink on average only 800ml (about a pint-and-a-half) per day, while around one in eight people never drink water.

According to medical research, increasing this amount by one-and-a-half litres would could help shift up to five pounds in weight by burning an extra 17,400 calories.

Lynn George, clinical dietetic manager at the NHS, said: “Water is one of the best fluids to drink as it is 100 per cent fluid and does not contain sugar, calories, caffeine, additives or acid which can be found in other fluids.

“During exercise and in hot weather additional fluid is also required as sweat losses can be up to three litres per hour in extreme conditions.”

The extra calories are burned because when the body is well-hydrated, toxins which would otherwise potentially cause weight gain or become a barrier to weight loss are effectively eliminated from the body.

Public health guidelines from the European Food Safety Authority  state that women should drink 1.6 litres of fluid per day and men two litres to maintain a healthy body and mind.

Susan Gee, occupational health and wellbeing manager at Yorkshire Water,

said: “The average adult loses around ten cups of water every day simply by breathing, sweating, urinating and eliminating waste.

“This survey reveals that most people don’t drink as much fluid, and especially water, as they should.”

Other findings revealed that 12 per cent of people in Rotherham never drink pure water in an average day and a quarter less than half a pint, with only 13 per cent of those surveyed typically supping more than three pints every day.

As well as getting water from fluids, food such as lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and broccoli are made up of over 90 per cent water and help meet your daily intake targets, Ms George said.