Staying hydrated in the summer

Keep Children and Teens Hydrated – Hydration for sports and fitness.

Summer is coming.  Kids love to participate in sports, spend time at the beach and play outside, but with the summer heat comes added risk for dehydration. Dehydration is occurs when you lose more fluids than you take in. Kids are busy having fun and forget to have fluids.  The easiest way to avoid dehydration is to drink lots and lots of fluids.  Water of course is the best choice, but fruit juices, lemonade and ice tea are also good choices.  Try to avoid giving them caffeinated beverages like soda, as this can act as a diuretic. Try to get them to come inside the house or in the shade to let the body cool down every hour or so. If playing sports, make sure they drink at least every 20 minutes.  The best time to train is early morning or afternoon before the sun gets really hot. The amount of fluids needed each day depends on age, gender, activity level, the weather so make sure you know all this information before you go outside. Use this as a guide 70% of our body weight is water; that is about 10 gallons of water for a person of 120 lbs. Bottled water is an excellent choice for hydration.