Question: Why do we get dehydrated

Faye Didymus answered on 6 Jul 2012:

Hi currymunch2k12! That’s a really interesting question.

Water makes up around 70 per cent of our bodies so it’s a really important part of us. We use water for digestion, to keep our joints and skin healthy, and it helps us to remove waste products (things that we don’t need any more).

We get dehydrated when more water is lost from the body than is taken in – so if we exercise lots and sweat out lots of water and combine that with not drinking enough then we could get dehydrated. This causes an imbalance in important minerals, such as sodium and potassium, which we need for muscle and nerve function.

If there is a 1% or more loss in body weight because of fluid loss, we get dehydrated…so you can see how important water and fluids are to us when we consider that only a 1% loss can make us dehydrated. A 1% loss would be quite a mild dehydration but if we lose more fluid than 1% then we can get moderate or severe dehydration. At one end of the scale, mild dehydration may cause someone to feel only a little thirsty. At the other end, severe dehydration can result in death.

Did you know that by the time you feel thirsty you’re already dehydrated? So I’m important to take regular fluids on board to keep our bodies nice and healthy 🙂

I hope that answers your question!
Faye 🙂