Water is vital for maintaining all bodily functions. It is also essential to perform all your daily chores. Hence, you might ask how much water a person use per day?
It was estimated that an average urban household consumes 135 litres of water per head daily. It was also found that the estimation increased considerably in families with higher incomes.
Your water consumption and usage vary depending on a lot of factors. However, it is undeniable that the accessibility to a clean water supply becomes a determining force when deciding consumption levels.
Keeping in mind the average amount of water used in a day, the World Health Organization (WHO) placed certain optimal levels that need to be achieved. According to WHO, 50-100 litres of water is required by an average person to meet all their daily needs and maintain good health.
How can Water Usage by Households be Categorised?
With the average water usage by urban households clocking higher than the WHO standards, there are high-income households where these values take giant leaps.
The value of water consumed in a day went up to 250 litres per person in high-income households, and sometimes the figures were as high as 600 litres. For understanding how much water households use in a day, specific breakups were provided by IS 1172.
Break up of water usage:
- Bathing: 55 litres
- Toilet flushing: 30 litres
- Washing of clothes: 20 litres
- For house cleaning : 10 litres
- Washing utensils: 10 litres
- Cooking: 5 litres
- Drinking: 5 litres.
Paradoxically, water is the most abundant resource. Yet, its scarcity requires you to ensure its optimal use while sustaining its future use.
Therefore, the most important question you might have is how much water do we need to consume per day?
How much Water do We need to Consume in a Day?
You must ensure judicious water use to perform your daily chores, like maintaining personal hygiene. However, there are recommendations that you must follow to keep proper bodily functions.
The minimum amount of water required for your body in a day is;
- Men – 15.5 cups
- Women – 11.5 cups
This is also called the 8×8 division, where you have eight 8 oz glasses of water daily. It can also include other fluids like fruit and vegetable juices and beverages like tea or coffee.
However, your daily water intake may vary according to some other factors. It rises depending on your surroundings or certain health pressings. For example, the amount of water we need to consume in a day may increase in the summer season or the associated food habits.
Factors Affecting Your Daily Water Consumption
1. Where You Live
Depending on your geo-location, you may have to increase your water intake. Living in hot and humid tropical weather and life in higher altitudes will require a comparative increase in water intake.
2. Food Habits
If you are drinking a few extra cups of coffee or have a diet high in sugar and fats, then consume ample water to balance them. Intaking hydrating food would be beneficial to your dietary habits.
3. The Type of Work You Do
If your work requires you to be in the sun for long hours, increase your water intake to replenish the water lost through perspiration.
4. Associated Health Issues
When suffering from flu or infection, your body may lose fluids by vomiting. This can lead to dehydration can lead to further health deterioration. Drink more water to maintain balance and aid a speedy recovery.
5. Pregnancy or breastfeeding
During pregnancy and while nursing your baby, your body needs extra fluids to stay hydrated. And why not? It is carrying the burden of two!
Hence, sipping water at intervals throughout the day can help you keep well. At the same time, it is crucial to understand what other benefits consuming water can bring you.
Does Drinking Lots of Water Benefit My Health?
Various different studies state the various additional health benefits of drinking more water.
Aiding Weight Loss
According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, drinking more water can correlate to a decrease in body weight and composition.
Another study published in Clinical Nutrition (Segment of Frontiers in Nutrition) found that health issues like obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases were associated with chronic dehydration.
It is also advised that drinking water half an hour before your meals can reduce the number of calories that you consume.
Fighting Health Problems by Drinking Ample Water
Evidence shows that increased water consumption can help reduce certain health risks and provide relief for others. Ample water consumed in a day can help you fight the following troubles in the long run:
- Reducing recurring acne and improving skin clarity
- Reduced risk of recurrent Urinary Track Infections (UTIs)
- High fluid intake can risk kidney stone risks
- Common problems like constipation can be overcome with time
Maintaining the Quality of Water Consumed
Having access to clean drinking water is as essential as drinking water. Thus, purifying drinking water is crucial to ensure your long-term health. Purified water is safe to consume and reduces the risk of water-borne diseases.
Thus, selecting a trusted water purifier should be your next step. With technologies like RO+UV/ RO+UF, water purifiers also cater to your other taste-enhancing or mineralising needs.
Also, ensure that your water purifiers are serviced at regular intervals and you should know the limit of water in purifier or the capacity of water purifier that you have. The container of purifier attracts sediments and requires to be cleaned for continued purification.
In Conclusion
While differing experiences and interactions with your surroundings may affect your water consumption and usage, it cannot be denied that water intake is a must! At the time, ensuring that your drinking water is purified can add to your good health.
