Why is water so important?

Why do we need to drink water?

All living things need water to live. Find out why we need to include water in our diet.

In this article you can learn:

This resource is suitable for Health and Wellbeing for primary school learners.

In this video, the Great Spoon explains why we need water in our diets and how much water is in different kinds of food.

This video can not be played

If you do not water plants…

Just like plants, humans also need water to stay healthy.

In fact, more than sixty percent of our body is made up of water. 60% is more than half of our body!

Water keeps our bodies working well and helps us stay fit and healthy.
We lose water every day when we sweat, breathe and go to the toilet.
This water needs to be replaced by drinking and eating.

Being hydrated means giving your body the water it needs to work properly.

Drink about six to eight cups of water a day. Children under 8 years old should drink around four to six cups. Remember, we can also get water from what we eat and other drinks, like milk.
Drink more water on days when you are very active. For example, playing football, dancing or riding a bike all make your body lose more water.
Drink more on hot days. Your body loses more water when you sweat.
Drink with every meal. This is one easy way of adding more water into your day.
Keep a water bottle with you throughout the day.
Eat foods that contain a lot of water. Fruit and vegetables, such as strawberries and cucumbers, have a high water content. Eating soup is another way of keeping our bodies topped up with water.

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Drink six to eight cups of water a day
We should aim to drink six to eight cups of water a day. Younger children don't need quite as much. Remember you also get water from eating some foods, like fruit, and other drinks, like milk.
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Drink more water when you are active
When we are active, we tend to lose more water through heavy breathing or sweat. That's why it's important to drink more water when you have been very active, like after cycling.
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Drink more on hot days
We need to drink more on hot days because our body loses more water when we sweat.
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Drink with every meal
One way to stay hydrated is to try drinking some water with all of your meals.
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Keep a water bottle with you
Keeping a reusable water bottle with you throughout the day can help you stay hydrated.
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Eat food that contains a lot of water
Eating high water content foods, like strawberries and cucumbers, can help us stay hydrated.

Design and draw a poster to encourage your friends to drink more water.

Try to include:

Information about why we need to drink water
Tips for children who do not like water to encourage them to drink more of it. For example, keeping it in the fridge or adding slices of fruit for flavour.

Discover some top tips on creating an eye-catching poster: How to make a poster