When it comes to losing weight, people are willing to try anything, at least anything that doesn't involve eating less and moving more.
One popular theory says that if you drink more water, you will lose weight. The belief is that drinking water helps suppress the appetite.
But is the answer to weight loss really as simple as chugging an extra glass or two of H20?
Drinking 500ml of water, around a pint, before eating may help obese adults to lose weight, a study found.
“If you look at any sort of weight management programs, they all say drinking lots of water is a really good thing,” says study author Dr. Amanda Daley of the University of Birmingham in the UK. “We said, let’s go see what the actual evidence is for this.”
The UK researchers say the simple intervention could be 'hugely beneficial,' and could easily be promoted by doctors and other health professionals.
As part of the study, the researchers recruited 84 obese adults from general practices and monitored them for 12 weeks.
They were encouraged to drink tap water as sparkling water, sodas or sweetened drinks were not allowed as part of the study.
Each of the participants was given a weight management consultation, where they were advised on how to adapt their lifestyle and diet and improve their levels of physical activity.
Around half were also asked to "pre-load" before meals with water, and half advised to imagine that they had a full stomach before eating.
Those in the first group lost 1.3kg (2.87lbs) more than those in the control group on average.
Participants who reported pre-loading before all three main meals of the day reported a loss of 4.3kg (9.48lbs) over the 12 weeks, whereas those who only pre-loaded once, or not at all, only lost an average of 0.8kg (1.76lbs).
The study was published in the journal Obesity.
The team now hope the findings will inform further research into the benefits of drinking water before meals.
They hope to receive backing for a trial with a larger number of people and over a longer period of time in order to confirm the findings.
