Drinking water may speed up weight loss

DRINKING water before meals can help dieters shed extra pounds, research suggests.

A study found that slimmers could lose an average of 5lb extra if they drank two cups of water before meals, three times a day. It has long been believed that drinking water can help people to feel full, but there has been little scientific evidence to support the claim.

Experts in the US split 48 adults into two groups. Both followed a low-calorie diet; one drank two cups of water before each meal and the other did not.

Over 12 weeks, those drinking water lost 15.5lb compared with the non-drinkers, who lost about 11lb. The experts presented their findings at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Boston.

Dr Brenda Davy, from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, said it was the first randomised controlled trial looking at water consumption and dieting.

She said: "In this recent study, we found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about five pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake."