A bottle of water before meal could help you lose weight

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have found that drinking 500ml of water half an hour before major meals of the day may aid in weight loss among adults with obesity.

Obesity is a major health issue in the United States where two out of every three Americans are considered to be overweight or obese. 

Published in the journal Obesity, the study revealed that obese adults who ‘pre-loaded’ with 500ml of plain tap water before meal lost an average of 4.3 kg (9.5lbs) over a 12-weeks period.

The group consisted of 84 obese adults who were recruited from general practices. They were divided into two groups and monitored over a 12 week period. 

41 of those recruited were asked to consume 500 ml of tap water 30 minutes before breakfast, lunch and dinner - referred to as "preloading" - every day for 12 weeks. The remaining 43 belonged to the control group who were advised to imagine that they had a full stomach before eating.

Each of the participants, all adults with obesity, were given a weight management consultation, where they were advised on how to adapt their lifestyle and improve their diet and levels of physical activity. [Read more Avoid obesity: Have home-cooked meals, turn off the TV while eating]

Those who pre-loaded before all three main meals in the day reported a loss of 4.3kg (9.48lbs) over the 12 weeks, whereas those who only preloaded once, or not at all, only lost an average of 0.8kg (1.76lbs).

“The beauty of these findings is in the simplicity. Just drinking a pint of water, three times a day, before your main meals may help reduce your weight,” said Dr. Helen Paretti, NIHR Clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham.

"When combined with brief instructions on how to increase your amount of physical activity and on a healthy diet, this seems to help people to achieve some extra weight loss -- at a moderate and healthy rate. It's something that doesn't take much work to integrate into our busy everyday lives."

The study team hopes that the results will encourage further research into the benefits of pre-loading with water before main meals. They are asking for support for a trial study they plan to do with a larger number of participants and over a longer period of time in order to confirm the findings.

"Losing a few extra pounds over the course of a year can be significant to an individual, and this could be an easy way to help with that weight loss. It's a simple message that has the potential to make a real contribution to public health," Dr. Parretti concluded.