“Keep it Light”

A new campaign highlights why it’s so important to stay hydrated

Did you know that two in every three Brits are dehydrated with some of the worst offenders being office workers? A workplace hydration survey, funded by Juice Doctor, polled over 1,000 UK office workers about hydration related issues and uncovered a shocking lack of hydration knowledge.

A massive 96 per cent of UK office workers are reported to be dehydrated. Not great news as a mere 2 per cent drop in hydration can lead to a 20 per cent drop in concentration. The survey also uncovered that healthy people with a normal BMI (20-25) drink significantly more water daily than those in the higher BMI range, with one-third of those with an ‘obese’ BMI admitting to drinking no water at all.

Now a new campaign called “Keep it Light” has launched to encourage people to check the colour of their urine as it’s one of the easiest ways of seeing how hydrated you are. The paler your pee, the more hydrated you are. The survey revealed that 93 per cent of office workers either don’t check and/or don’t know what the colour indicates.

“Our survey has revealed a shocking prevalence of dehydration in the UK with a big gap between knowledge and habit,” says TJ Herbert, co-founder of Juice Doctor.
The top three reasons why people don’t drink enough water are the frequent toilet trips which come with drinking lots of fluids, that water lacks flavour or that they simply forget, according to the survey.

Sir Steve Redgrave, five times Olympic gold medallist and co-founder of Juice Doctor, is supporting the campaign and says, “ Improving hydration habits is an easy way to develop performance in everyday life. It’s the same message for athletes, taxi drivers, office workers and busy mums alike.”

The campaign is looking to target employers as well as employees and invites them to download free posters and information from their website. Other free information can also be found there including a downloadable personal “Y’urindicator” chart, in other words a pee-tone colour chart (!), which can help identify the stages of dehydration.

Go to www.keepitlight.org to find out more.

Words: Megan Chapple