Fluid consumption pattern and hydration among 8-14 years-old children

Background/objectives Children consume various fluids to meet dietary water intake needs. However, the contribution of different fluid types on hydration is unclear. The purpose of this study was to develop fluid intake patterns and examine their association with hydration, as indicated by 24-h urine osmolality. Subjects/methods Two hundred ten (105 girls) healthy children (height: 1.49 +/- 0.13 m, weight: 43.4 +/- 12.6 kg, body fat: 25.2 +/- 7.8%) recorded their fluid intake for two consecutive days, and collected their urine for 24-h during the 2nd day, while conducting their normal daily activities. Urine samples were analyzed for specific gravity and osmolality. Factor analysis with principal components method was applied to extract dietary patterns from six fluid groups. Linear regression analysis evaluated the associations between the extracted dietary patterns and hydration based on 24-h urine osmolality. Results The analysis revealed the following six components: 1, characterized by consumption of milk and fresh juice, but not packaged juice; 2, by regular soda and other drinks, but not water; 3, by fresh juice and other drinks; 4, by packaged juice, but not regular soda; 5, by water and milk; and 6, by fresh juice. Component 5 was negatively correlated with urine osmolality (P = 0.001) indicating better hydration, whereas component 2 was positively correlated with urine osmolality (P = 0.001). Conclusions A drinking pattern based on water and milk was associated with better hydration, as indicated by lower urine osmolality, whereas drinking regular soda and other drinks but not water was associated with inferior hydration.