Effect of Pre-meal Water Consumption on Energy Intake and Satiety in Non-obese Young Adults

Clin Nutr Res. 2018 Oct;7(4):291-296. doi: 10.7762/cnr.2018.7.4.291. Epub 2018 Oct 31.

Abstract

I determined whether water consumption reduces energy intake and affects satiety in non-obese young adults. The final subjects consisted of 15 individuals (8 women and 7 men) with average ages of 26.4 and 23.5 years for women and men, respectively. When subjects drank water before eating a test meal, they ate a lower amount of the test meal compared to eating test meals under waterless and postload water conditions (preload water: 123.3 g vs. waterless: 161.7 g or postload water: 163.3 g, p < 0.05). Water consumption after eating a test meal did not affect energy intake. When the subjects drank water before eating a test meal, despite consuming a lower amount, the subjects did not feel significantly less satiety than eating meals under waterless or postload water conditions. The finding that pre-meal water consumption led to a significant reduction in meal energy intake in young adults suggests that pre-meal water consumption may be an effective weight control strategy, although the mechanism of action is unknown.

Keywords: Energy intake; Obesity; Satiation; Water.