Gigantic water bottles

[Fizbosshoes]

Prompted by a sign at the train station telling people to always carry a bottle of water with them in hot weather.

I'm rubbish at drinking water, I find it very boring but I try to drink a bottle (500ml, or very occasionally - if its hot, 750ml) a day, mainly to stop me drinking other unhealthy drinks, and in the hope it is doing some good. The only noticeable difference is that I need to wee more often. I don't always have a bottle of water with me on the train though.

My teens are much better than me at drinking water. Dd often takes a small chilly bottle (I think its 250ml) if she goes out. DS drinks water at home or with meals but would only take a water bottle out if he was doing sport.

But I've noticed people with gigantic - like 2 litre - water bottles, sometimes a parent carrying multiple ones for children.My (adult) nephew had one with him the other day at a family BBQ.

But what started it? When I was a kid I never had a water bottle when I was out. (And we didnt really have it at meals ) Then sometime between then and now bottled water became a thing, now I think more people have reusable, much larger, water bottles.

As long as no one is forcing me to drink more water (or asking me to lug around their 2l bottle) then I've got no problem with it, but I'm curious how or why the amount of water we need to drink seems to have increased. (In other ways people are less healthy than in the 80s, but I'm sure "we" drink way more water...?)

I once said something to my GP about not drinking enough water and he shrugged and said 'Provided you're drinking something and it's not full of sugar or alcohol, it really doesn't matter what it is. I don't know where this stuff comes from about drinking two litres of water every day, because there is no evidence that you need to. If you prefer to drink tea or squash or whatever, drink that.'

I said 'People keep telling me that tea and coffee are dehydrating' and he literally laughed and said 'God, no - caffeine is mildly diuretic so you might need to pee a little bit more quickly, but purely from a hydration aspect, the difference between drinking a glass of water and a cup of tea is negligible.'

TBF, until the 80s/90s school water fountains were widely available. They were all ripped out.

Historically, public water fountains were widespread.

There was a lull of a decade or two where free water stopped being available. Then came bottled water. Then came personal reusable bottles.

I have a Stanley style cup which is huge but it lasts me all day. I tend to leave home for the school run then we're not back until around 7pm some nights.

I like that I don't have to keep stopping into shops for a drink or find somewhere to refill. Plus it keeps my cold drinks silly cold in the summer and then in the winter my hot drinks stay hot for around 8 hours

I don't judge anyone for carrying a water bottle or for drinking water - each to their own.

If you need to drink 'at least' 4.4 litres of water a day just to prevent thirst, though, that's actually a bit worrying. It's way, way more than most women need to be fully hydrated, let alone to stop noticeable thirst.

You really shouldn't need that much a day to stave off thirst, honestly. You need about 2.5 litres of fluids a day to be properly hydrated, and that's including any fluid you get from your food.

Obviously it would be different if you were running a marathon in a tropical climate every day. But I would honestly be considering seeing a doctor if I was having to drink a minimum of 4.4 litres of water a day because of thirst.

I am mid-30s.
At school there were water fountains everywhere! We would run around at breaktime and then drink loads. I have always been bad at drinking enough water so have carried water around with me for years... certainly did it at senior school and probably every since. I have always just used those "single-use" 500ml bottles of water / coke and refilled until they fell apart. They usually last a few months.
I still probably don't drink enough water, I drink about 5-6 cups of tea a day and probably 500ml water, but if I didn't carry it I'm sure it'd be less.
I have 2 small children and I give them cups of water with meals and snacks, and if it's hot and we're outside would offer water in between that too.

Thanks for your insight. 🙄

I’m not ill and never get to the point where I’m gasping for a drink because I’m already well hydrated. I have a busy job, I exercise daily, I don’t usually drink anything other than water, I enjoy feeling refreshed. 4L of water suits me fine, thanks. 🙂

Hospital told me to increase my water intake so I'm in the habit of getting a 2l water bottle and decanting some of it into a smaller water jug at home, so it's always on hand.

Not sure if it's psychological but I feel that it tastes nicer? We're in a hard water area.

Too much can disrupt electrolyte balance and vast amounts can put pressure on your body so I'm happy with 1 litre per day.

I guess my original question was how or why we need more water than in the 80s? Were we all dehydrated all the time? We had water fountains at school but I'm sure no one was drinking 2l a day from them. You just had a few gulps at a time at break.

I was going to ponder whether upf makes us more thirsty in general but then if you're mindful of drinking lots of water, you're probably more mindful about what you eat.eat.so probs not that.

It is if you are going somewhere they don't allow bottles in
sometimes you need a disposable.
Then on the way home too. you need to buy another as you don't have a reusable with you

I have young adult kids and taking a water bottle to school was the norm for them so maybe it’s a habit thing ?

I agree that some people carry comically big ones though. Mine fits in my handbag

I have a 1L thermal water bottle, and try to drink 3 per day. One before lunch, one after and one in the evening. I notice my skin is much better and plumper when I consistently drink enough, and my 11's wrinkle goes away when I'm properly hydrated.

So its pure vanity.

Also, when my DC was in Reception in 2019, they had a tray in the middle of the classroom where all the kids' water bottles were put and at any time they were thirsty, they were allowed to get up and go take a sip. I was surprised as we never had anything like that and the Teacher said they've done it for at least the last 15-20 years. So I'm guessing the teens & young adults walking around with water bottles these days are doing it not because of 'fashion' but out of habit from being encouraged to drink regular water at school.

When I was in Primary, we had to keep our bottles with our lunch box and could only access it at break time or lunch time.

Yes my older DC are only 25 years younger than me, and this was the norm by the time they were in KS1 in the early 00s.

Their age group are now twenty somethings.

I'll just leave this here (hopefully!)

Yes I used to drink next to nothing as a teenager. Maybe a can at lunch. Then after leaving school until about 30 odd, I pretty much drank nothing except diet coke. Or alcohol, of course. Thats really not healthy.

Please don’t reuse single use bottles, they start to breakdown after the first refill and release bpa which is very harmful , they can cause hormonal issues from PCos, endo and breast cancer. It is single use for a very good reason.

just buy a cheap reusable one. i get these from Amazon, have a couple and just run them through the dishwasher.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C6DV5PBK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I would speak to your doctor, that’s an awful lot of water, and can cause you physical health issues.

https://www.medicinenet.com/is_drinking_4_liters_of_water_a_day_too_much/article.htm

I'm the same too. I have a big water bottle by my side because it reminds me to drink.

I also agree with a previous poster that I was probably dehydrated alot during childhood. I used to come home from school so thirsty.

I just know that feeling hydrated makes me feel better and it seems to improve my skin more than any fancy moisturiser :)

Goodness knows why anyone wants to lug around so much water in a city, just refill your bottle!

I do carry more water when out hiking though

I don't think I drink 2 litres in total per day unless it's very hot (25°+) or I've done lots of exercise (I run 5 times a week but I only take water if I'm doing a long run or an interval session)
AFAIK I am not dehydrated

I don't carry a big water bottle but given that every time anyone asks on here 'how can I improve my skin/look younger/feel healthier' etc, the most common response will be 'drink more water' I can see why people do 😂 I'm always feeling like I (and DC) need to drink more. But then I didn't know the 8 glasses a day thing had been debunked.

They’re really silly, I think people may as well pop a dummy on top of them

I was definitely dehydrated when I was at school in the 90s/early 00s. In primary school we only had a drink at lunchtime and I remember crying to my mum on the walk home because I was so thirsty. At secondary school, there were water fountains in the corridors but it was uncool to use them!

As an adult I would say I need 3 litres per day to be comfortable most days, more if I am exercising or if its very hot. But I am tall and large which probably means I need more than a shorter, petite woman.

I also have a vivid memory of fantasising about cool, refreshing drinks at a school sports day because I was so thirsty and we had no drinks with us.

@Fizbosshoes I wonder did we rely on fruits and vegetables for our water intake more? We didn't have a water fountain at school, we got milk at small break and most kids had tea or soup in a flask for lunch, or a juice pouch that they brought from home. That was in Ireland in 80s, we don't have school lunches here. My parents constantly drank tea or coffee, I don't remember anyone drinking water. We would usually have cordial with dinner. But probably less salt and sugar throughout the day.