Choosing water over juice can help tackle Bermuda’s obesity epidemic.

And with all body processes requiring water to work properly, public health nutritionist Cymone Hollis encouraged people to stay hydrated with “the best beverage choice”.

Ms Hollis said: “Water is the basis for every body function and makes up at least 60 per cent of your body. It’s an essential nutrient that is needed to ensure that processes are carried out sufficiently.

“Maintaining hydration means that there is improved organ function, removal of waste toxins, increased circulation of nutrients plus increased oxygen, lubricated joints, regulated body temperature, maintenance of the integrity of every body cell.”

Ms Hollis added that dehydration can slow down every body function and thirst is usually the first sign.

And while all fluids contribute, she said it matters how often they are being consumed on a regular basis.

“And because we have such an epidemic of obesity in Bermuda, you don’t want to be encouraging the juices and the sodas — those that are high in sugar.

“So switching out those drinks by having water can actually help to reduce the calorie content.”

She also pointed to the high sugar content in juices and recommended eating the apple instead of drinking the juice.

“The point of that is not to tell you to totally eliminate all of the other things you enjoy but the beverage of choice should be water on a regular basis.”

But Ms Hollis said that thirst can also present itself as hunger.

And she said: “Some people don’t realise that they are also eating when they’re actually thirsty and that’s a big difference too.

“Sometimes it’s good to drink the water first and wait a few minutes to see whether you’re actually still hungry. You might think you’re hungry but it will actually be quenched by you drinking more.”

Ms Hollis added that guidelines for how much water people should drink change and needs vary based on specific situations.

“There are lots of different variables — it’s going to be based on the temperature climate that you’re living in, if you’re doing exercise, if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding or if you’re on medications that have diuretic effect.”

She added that illnesses or kidney and liver issues can also affect the amount of water a person needs to drink.

And she said children and seniors can be at a higher risk of becoming dehydrated. Ms Hollis said: “Children might be at risk of not drinking when they’re thirsty because they want to continue playing or other things.

“And sometimes seniors for their medication and sometimes their sense of thirst decreased and by the time they are getting something they are already dehydrated.”

Ms Hollis said signs of dehydration include headaches, fatigue, dark-coloured urine, confusion, mood changes, very dry skin, excessive thirst and cracked lips.

She recommended that adults make sure they can sip water throughout the day and that they listen to their thirst.

“Don’t wait until it’s too late — if you’re seeing dark urine that’s like apple juice colour — that will let you know you’re not hydrated enough. It should be like a pale straw colour.”

And Ms Hollis said adding lemons, limes or oranges to water can make it more appealing, especially for children who “get so trained into these sweetened beverages”.

She added: “Or even trying cool water. People sometimes think warm water has a taste.”

But Ms Hollis also cautioned against fads and pointed to a recent trend of drinking alkaline water.

She said: “Your body is efficient to do these things for itself. It actually has its way of making sure it stays in the perfect pH level.

And she added: “You’ve got to work through the fads with regards to what’s going on and it’s such an easy and vulnerable population for everybody seeking these things with regards to what works to weight loss, what works to being healthy that almost once someone states it, it’s just a constant chain and sometimes it’s not necessarily true.”