Main Trends in Bottled Water Consumption among Young People in the Regions of Southwest Siberia

Abstract

Introduction: One of the promising ways to improve the quality of life and life expectancy of the population is harmonization of the drinking regimen aimed at reducing the risk of the negative impact of increased levels of drinking water components and correcting the deficiency of a number of essential microelements. Objective: To conduct a questionnaire-based survey of young people living in the Altai Region and adjacent territories to determine the proportion of males and females who consume bottled water, taking into account added essential trace elements, duration of regular use, and the approximate volume of general water consumption. Materials and methods: The study involved 2,068 people, including 1,534 women and 534 men with the mean age of 20.7 ± 2.3 years and 20.6 ± 2.1 years, respectively. The survey was conducted during the second half of 2022 and the results were analyzed in January 2023. Results: The statistical frequency analysis showed that the structure of bottled water consumption in the young men did not differ from that in the whole sample and the women. The majority of young people (82.0 to 83.5 %) of both sexes actively used bottled water for drinking purposes, and 8.5 to 12.2 % of them consciously chose bottled water with added essential trace elements. The median time of constant bottled water consumption among all the respondents was 5 years with the first and third quartiles of 1 and 10 years, respectively. A statistical relationship was established between sex and the volume of water consumption: the young women were prone to consume less while a large proportion of young men was found to consume more water than required for optimal hydration. Conclusions: Ensuring proper drinking regimen is an important task for health maintenance of young people, which should be addressed through creation of specialized health schools on the basis of regional centers for prevention of non-communicable diseases and/or disease prevention departments (offices) of medical institutions.