Background and Aims: Fluid requirements of children vary as a function of gender and age. To our knowledge, there is very little literature on the hydration status of French children. We assessed the morning hydration status in a large sample of 529 French schoolchildren aged 9–11 years. Methods: Recruited children completed a questionnaire on fluid and food intake at breakfast and collected a urine sample the very same day after breakfast. Breakfast food and fluid nutritional composition was analyzed and urine osmolality was measured using a cryoscopic osmometer. Results: More than a third of the children had a urine osmolality between 801 and 1,000 mosm/kg while 22.7% had a urine osmolality over 1,000 mosm/kg. This was more frequent in boys than in girls (p < 0.001). A majority of children (73.5%) drank less than 400 ml at breakfast. Total water intake at breakfast was significantly and inversely correlated with high osmolality values. Conclusions: Almost two thirds of the children in this large cohort had evidence of a hydration deficit when they went to school in the morning, despite breakfast intake. Children’s fluid intake at breakfast does not suffice to maintain an adequate hydration status for the whole morning.

Background. Children who drink too little to meet their daily water requirements are likely to become dehydrated, and even mild dehydration can negatively affect health. This is even more important in Middle-Eastern countries where high temperatures increase the risk of dehydration. We assessed morning hydration status in a sample of 519 Egyptian schoolchildren (9-11 years old). Methods. Children completed a questionnaire on breakfast intakes and collected a urine sample after breakfast. Breakfast food and fluid nutritional composition was analyzed and urine osmolality was measured using osmometry. Results. The mean urine osmolality of children was 814 mOsmol/kg: >800 mOsmol/kg (57%) and >1000 mOsmol/kg (24.7%). Furthermore, the results showed that a total water intake of less than 400 mL was associated with a significant higher risk of dehydration. Surprisingly, 63% of the children skipped breakfast. Conclusions. The results showed that a majority of Egyptian schoolchildren arrive at school with a hydration deficit. These results highlight the fact that there is a need to educate schoolchildren about the importance of having a breakfast and adequate hydration.

Background and aims: Fluid requirements of children vary as a function of gender and age. To our knowledge, there is very little literature on the hydration status of Italian children. We assessed morning hydration status in a large sample of 515 Italian school children aged 9 to 11 years. Methods: Recruited children completed a questionnaire on fluid and food intake at breakfast and collected a urine sample the very same day after breakfast. Breakfast food and fluid nutritional composition was analysed and urine osmolality was measured using a cryoscopic osmometer. Results: More than two thirds of the children had urine osmolality above 800 mOsmol/kg while 35.0% had urine osmolality over 1000 mOsmol/kg. This was more frequent in boys than in girls (71.9% versus 62.5%; p=0.02). Total water intake (water coming from both food and fluid) as well as total fluid intake at breakfast were significantly and inversely correlated with urine osmolality. Conclusions: Almost two thirds of the children in this large cohort had evidence of a hydration deficit when they went to school in the morning, despite breakfast intake. Children's fluid intake at breakfast does not suffice to maintain an adequate hydration status for the whole morning.

No abstract

No abstract