Dr Williams Wilson, a Physician, on Wednesday, stressed the need for increased water intake, saying it was a potent component of the body that helps in sustaining the body system to fight diseases.
Wilson told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that the percentage of water in human body varies according to age and gender.
He added that the amount of water ranged from 50-75 per cent, explaining that average adult human body was 50-65 per cent water, while the percentage in infants was higher, typically around 75-78 per cent, dropping to 65 per cent when child became one year.
The physician, who said that water made up 55 per cent of body weight of elderly people and was essential for life, urged Nigerians to take more water, “especially during the current hot weather”.
Wilson said that a major key to survival had been prevention of dehydration, adding that without water, humans could only survive for days.
According to him, water represents a critical nutrient whose absence will be deadly within days.
He said that the intake of water was important for prevention of nutrition-related non communicable diseases which had emerged recently because of the shift toward large proportion of fluids coming from caloric beverages.
Wilson said: “When we speak of water, we are essentially focusing first and foremost on all types of water, be they soft or hard, spring or well, carbonated or distilled water.
“Furthermore, we get water not only directly as beverage but from foods and to a very small extent, from oxidation of macronutrients (metabolic water).”
He explained that the proportion of water that often came from beverages and foods vary with the proportion of fruits and vegetables in the diet.
The medical practitioner urged Nigerians not to shy away from taking water, stressing that it would help in hydrating the body and flushing the system.
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