Water percentage in the body, and its relation to overweight

[cbcb]

Isn't the percentage of water in the body generally higher in normal-weight people than the overweight? If so, does anyone have thoughts on how that affects general functioning of the body. That is, might part of the difficulty of shedding pounds be related to not having an optimal water percentage in the body? Thoughts, musings, ramblings on the topic are welcomed.

[wbahn]

I don't have anything to add - just didn't want you to think the question is being ignored.

I think the issue wouldn't be whether the water percentage is different because I would suspect that it should be different since the makeup of the body is different. The question would be if the percentage tends to deviate from what it should be more for an overweight person than for a person at a proper weight.

I have no idea - but an interesting question.

[laurenra]

A friend & I were talking about water retention last night. We weigh about the same & are the same height. I retain water like mad but she does not. In fact she is very fair skinned & red haired. She has trouble staying hydrated at all.
Both situations cause problems I think.

[jtl3]

I got this from another site. It was posted by an MD and it answers your question.

"Different people have different percentages of their bodies made up of
water. Babies have the most, being born at about 78%. By one year of age,
that amound drops to about 65%. In adult men, about 60% of their bodies
are water. However, fat tissue does not have as much water as lean tissue.
In adult women, fat makes up more of the body than men, so they have about
55% of thier bodies made of water. Fat men also have less water (as a
percentage) than thin men.

So you can see three possible reasons for the discrepancies you have found:
1) Babies and kids have more water (as a percantage) than adults.
2) Women have less water than men (as a percentage).
3) Fat people have less water than thin people (as a percentage).

A forth reason is that different people measure per cent water a little
differently, causing small differences in the answer."

I know that the amount of water you drink and the amount of salt also regulate water retention. If you don't drink enough water (64oz a day) your body will store water as a defense against dehydration. :thup: Hope this helps

[jimjam]

What I'd like to know is how to stop getting bloated!! Gosh I hate that - it's so infuriating. Some days I can't even get my ring on and I watch sodium intake so closely - doesn't seem fair. I guess it's all in our genetics, huh.

[red1cutie]

What I'd like to know is how to stop getting bloated!! Gosh I hate that - it's so infuriating. Some days I can't even get my ring on...

The more water you drink the less water your body will retain and the less bloated you will be. Reducing your consumption of high sodium products helps too but you already do that.


red

[CindySue48]

The more water you drink the less water your body will retain and the less bloated you will be. Reducing your consumption of high sodium products helps too but you already do that.


red

Not for all of us!

I've been a retainer of water most of my life. By the end of the day, my feet are so swollen they actually hurt! Lots of water, no water, didn't matter one bit! "Overweight", "Ideal" weight, or "obese" didn't make a difference.

Since I've been on LC it's much better....but even now in hot weather and other things like being on my feet too long, can cause intense swelling.

I naturally eat a very low salt diet....I have since nursing school, over 28yrs ago. When I was pregnant with my daughter we estimate that I gained over 20# of just fluid. I had no symptoms of eclampsia....just severe retention.

I've asked several of my docs about it over the years....and I basically get the same answers.....some people retain more than others. (I've had vascular studies done, there's no problem)

[black57]

I read that celery is a good diuretic.

[Miss Model]

I take B5B and Taurine each morning. They're sugguested in Dr. Atkin's book for water retention. They seem to be helping me :) Peppermint tea, cucumbers, and asperagas are all natural diuretics as well. Happy peeing.

[rloveman]

I swell like crazy, no matter how much water I drink. It's worse when I have too much sodium, but it happens even when I don't. Right now I'm bloated like crazy, and I'm wondering if it's because I increased my weight training today. I know the muscles hold onto water, but does anyone know if that translates to bloat?

Loved the workout, but now I'm sore AND bloated. Sigh.

[Sweetcake]

B6 is a diuretic also. Before I had carpal tunnel surgery on my wrists, my doctor told me to take extra b6 to get rid of excess water so my hands would hurt less.

[alto]

I kinda hate to admit that my source for this comment is "Dr. Phil," but I saw him on some talk show once, explaining that his sister, wh was quite overweight, "had probably 85 pounds of water weight." I was intrigued by that -- is that why some people lose so quickly on low carb diets (wth their diuretic effect) while others, who are not so puffy, lose at a slower pace?

[quietone]

Interesting alto.

I've always lost very quickly on low carb (when I stick to it) and keep losing every week, without fail. Maybe it is because I have more water retention.

hmmm.

Did Dr. Phil say how they knew she had that much water weight?

[PatL]

cbcb : The variation in water percentage between sexes and through age is simply due to tissues distribution as it was hinted earlier.

Fat is one major tissue that is very low in water content as compared to other tissues such as muscle, cartilage, vital organs, etc. As such, the more you have muscle as compared to fat, the less is your water percentage. That explains why women have more water as compared to men, and why as you get older you get higher water %(you lose muscle mass).

Increased retention of water increases weight(unfortunately) but not fat. In the most severe case it can be due to renal problems, or liver deficiency(through the lack of plasma proteins usually).

[jschwab]

Not for all of us!

I've been a retainer of water most of my life. By the end of the day, my feet are so swollen they actually hurt! Lots of water, no water, didn't matter one bit! "Overweight", "Ideal" weight, or "obese" didn't make a difference.

Since I've been on LC it's much better....but even now in hot weather and other things like being on my feet too long, can cause intense swelling.

I naturally eat a very low salt diet....I have since nursing school, over 28yrs ago. When I was pregnant with my daughter we estimate that I gained over 20# of just fluid. I had no symptoms of eclampsia....just severe retention.

I've asked several of my docs about it over the years....and I basically get the same answers.....some people retain more than others. (I've had vascular studies done, there's no problem)

Have you ever tried upping your salt? When I was pregnant I couldn't even drink water that wasn't laced with salt or else I couldn't absorb it and it would end up as edema. We need salt to absorb water and process it through our bodies. I have always been taught to eat salt to taste.

Janine