Council leaders are calling for water to be made freely available in schools, nurseries and children's centres after new figures showed children are only getting 25% of the fluid they need from water.
The figures by the Natural Hydration Council show that teenagers aged 11-18 are only drinking two small glasses of water a day, which is 453ml out of their total fluid requirement of 1.8 litres. Children aged between four and 10 are only drinking 276ml water out of a recommended daily fluid intake of 1.3 litres.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said hydration in schools should be a key part of the upcoming child obesity strategy. It points to a recent study showing that replacing one sugary drink with water each day can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25%.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, LGA community wellbeing spokeswoman, said: 'Children and teenagers are not drinking enough water. It is far too easy for them to choose a soft drink rather than a glass of water. We need to reverse this and make water more freely available in our schools, nurseries, children’s centres and colleges.'
Blackpool Council ran a Stoptober-style campaign last year to get pupils to swap fizzy drinks for water for 21 days. More than 80 youngsters aged 11 to 18 signed up to the challenge.
