Drinking enough water is important for your health and well-being. Water helps regulate your body temperature, flush out toxins, lubricate your joints, and transport nutrients and oxygen to your cells. It also helps prevent dehydration, which can cause headaches, fatigue, dry skin, and constipation. To know how much water you should drink per day, you should consider your age, weight, activity level, climate, health status, and fluid intake from other sources such as food and beverages. A general guideline is to drink about half an ounce to an ounce of water for each pound you weigh per day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds (68 kilograms), you should drink between 75 to 150 ounces (2.2 to 4.4 liters) of water per day. However, this may vary depending on your individual needs and preferences.
Another way to calculate your daily water intake is to use the Adequate Intake (AI) measure, which is the median total water intake from U.S. survey datahttps://www.stylecraze.com/tools/water-intake-calculator/. The AI values are based on age and gender and include water from food and drink. Water and other beverages represent approximately 81% of total water intake, and the water contained in food provides the remaining 19%. The AI values for different age groups are shown in the table below:
| Age (years) | AI (milliliters/day) |
| ———– | ——————– |
| Child | |
| 0–6 mths | 700 |
| 7–12 mths | 800 |
| 1–3 | 1300 |
| 4–8 | 1700 |
| Female | |
| 9–13 | 2100 |
| 14–18 | 2300 |
| 19–30 | 2700 |
| 31–50 | 2700 |
| 50+ | 2700 |
| Male | |
| 9–13 | 2400 |
| 14–18 | 3300 |
| 19–30 | 3700 |
| 31–50 | 3700 |
| 50+ | 3700 |
You can also use our calculator to find out how much water you need to drink per day based on the AI values. It will display both your total water intake and the amount you need to get from beverages.
Some factors that may increase your water intake needs are:
• Physical activity: You lose water through sweating when you exercise, so you need to drink more water to replenish your fluids and electrolytes. You should drink about 12 ounces of water per 30 minutes of exercising.
• Climate: You lose more water through sweating and breathing when you are in a hot or humid environment, so you need to drink more water to prevent dehydration. You may also need more water if you are at a high altitude or exposed to direct sunlight.
• Health status: You may need more water if you have a fever, diarrhea, vomiting, or urinary tract infection, as these conditions can cause dehydration. You may also need more water if you have certain medical conditions such as diabetes or kidney stones or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Fluid intake from other sources: You can get some water from food and other beverages such as juice, milk, tea, coffee, or soup. However, some beverages such as alcohol and caffeinated drinks can have a diuretic effect and make you lose water through urination. You should limit your intake of these drinks and drink more water instead.
To keep track of your water intake, you can use a reusable water bottle with markings or a timer or an app on your phone that will remind you to drink water regularly. You can also add some flavor to your water with slices of lemon, lime, cucumber, mint, or berries or drink herbal tea or infused water instead of coffee or alcohol. Drinking enough water will help you stay hydrated and healthy.