Thinking about a water bottle full of sweat... let's be honest, it sounds disgusting.However, with the extreme temperatures we're seeing in our area, if you'respending at least an hour outside working, exercising or recreating, there's a good chance you're sweating *at least* awater bottle full of sweat (16oz)... but probably more.
The exact amount a person will sweat exerting themselves inextreme temperatures will vary from person to person. Experts citea person could lose anywhere from 1-8 pounds per hour in extreme heat!
An article from the Houston Chronicle states that a person will sweat more than a pound of water weight during, going on an hour-long run.
National Geographic's article titled, "How 100 Degrees Does a Number on You" states, "A normal, healthy person who is not used to the heat can, in heat wave conditions, sweat as much as 1.5 quarts of liquid in an hour. Someone acclimated to the hot weather, say a Phoenix telephone lineman, develops the ability to sweat (and thus cool off) at a more intense rate, losing up to two quarts of sweat in an hour." Considering that a quart of water weighs about 2 pounds, that's 3-4 pounds of water weight lost an hour!
An article from Hammer Nutrition says we could be losing even more! "On average, you lose about one liter (approx 34 ounces) of fluid per hour of exercise. Extreme heat and humidity can raise that amount to three liters in one hour." A liter of water also weighs about 2 pounds, so that's 2-6 pounds of water weight lost in just an hour.
And finally a study done by theInstitute of Medicine (US) Committee on Military Nutrition Research found that "sweat rate is proportional to metabolic rate and can amount to 3 to 4 liters per hour or as much as 10 liters per day!" (6-8 pounds an hour)
The point? While theamount we sweat varies greatly from person to person and depends on a number of factors includingbody weight, metabolic rate and just plain old genetics, we are all sweating a lot more than we realize in extreme heat. This only increases the risk of dehydration, especially in kids who are already more prone to dehydration because their bodies don't cool down as efficiently as adults.
Combat dehydration by taking a water bottle with you everywhere and aim to be drinking enough water to at least replace what you're losing in sweat.
To find out how much you're sweating, you can weigh yourself prior to an activity outside. Make sure not to eat or drink anything and don't use the bathroom. Weigh yourself again after the activity and that will tell you how much water weight you've lost.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children drink six glasses of water on an average day and during activity, even children can lose up to a pound of fluid per hour. The AAP suggests kids should drink about 5 ounces of water (two kid-size gulps) every 20 minutes for an 88-pound child. Kids and teens weighing up to 132 pounds should drink 9 ounces of water every 20 minutes during activity.
For more tips to keep your kids hydrated, click here:http://tinyurl.com/ycam5p4h
Check out your local weather forecast here: www.khq.com/weather
