Plain water is recommended to replace sugar-sweetened beverages to support health yet concerns about tap water safety and barriers to access often present challenges to making water the beverage of choice. A new article, published by the journal Annual Review of Nutrition, reviews evidence for this through a socioecological lens—considering the complex web of individual, relationship, community and societal factors that influence water consumption. The paper explores intake of drinking water in the U.S. compared to requirements across age and racial/ethnic groups, showing that most people do not drink enough plain water. It describes U.S. regulations that support safe drinking water as well
Advocating for water bottle filling stations that provide access to water at no charge to students in every school in the United States is something Voices for Healthy Kids—and the National Drinking Water Alliance—has supported for quite some time. Why? Because water is a basic human need—something kids can’t live without. And because children spend so much time at school, having safe and appealing options for water is critical for them to live healthier lives. As some schools reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, water bottle filling stations are more important than ever before. Unlike water fountains, water bottle filling stations don’t come in contact with a person’s mouth, making them a s
Researchers at University of California and University of Washington knew that the mere presence of a water fountain does not necessarily mean that the fountain is an appealing, or even functional, way to get a drink of water. They also knew that smartphones with photo capability are common. Therefore, with funding from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Eating Research, the team developed, validated and feasibility-tested a photo-evidence protocol for participatory science. The tool, Assess the Quality of Water Access (AQWA), allows “citizen scientists” to perform systematic documentation of key features of water access. With support from the WK Kellogg Foundation, the photo-evidence to
