Variability in Intake and Dehydration in Young Men during a Simulated Desert Walk
Abstract
Men living and working for prolonged periods in hot environments nearly always become dehydrated, since they rarely voluntarily drink sufficient fluids to replace quantities lost in sweat. Adolph noted that daily body weight losses of 2 to 3% may be commonplace when working in the desert, even if water is plentiful and palatable. Varying degrees of dehydration ranging from 1.5% to 7% loss of body weight have been reported in both field and laboratory settings in men working in hot climates, as well as in marathoners running in temperate climates. Rothstein et al. concluded that the phenomenon of voluntary dehydration results from an inadequacy of the thirst mechanism to stimulate sufficient drinking for complete rehydration. Findings prompted us to assess dehydration in young adults during treadmill exercise under desert conditions when cool water was available ad libitum. Unlike previous studies (1,9,13,17,19) , we measured fluid consumption and the extent of voluntary dehydration in a sample population of 33 young adult males exercising at a constant work level under controlled environmental conditions. Water at 15 C was chosen because water temperatures ranging from 10 to 15 C have been shown to be preferred by humans when large quantities must be drunk to reduce dehydration (1,4,18,19). Additionally, the impact of dehydration on several physiological responses was assessed. Reprints. (kt)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA215225
Entities
People
- Ingrid V. Sils
- Patricia C. Szlyk
- Ralph P. Francesconi
- Roger W. Hubbard
- William T. Matthew
Organizations
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine