Dehydration risk as pupils drink too little

Nearly two-thirds of children are not drinking enough at breakfast time to be properly hydrated.

Researchers from Sheffield University’s medical school found 60 per cent of more than 450 children aged between nine and 11 at 12 schools in Sheffield were “not sufficiently hydrated” – the stage just below “clinical dehydration”.

Professor Gerard Friedlander, of the Descartes University Medical School in Paris, who oversaw the research, said: “We are concerned by the findings of the study, which suggest that children are not consuming enough fluid at the beginning of the day to be able to maintain adequate hydration through the morning.

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“Children are more vulnerable to dehydration than adults due to their high surface-to-body weight ratio.

“They also don’t always pay attention to the feeling of thirst, so may not naturally ask for a drink.”

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