Hydration Behavior Following Education and the Use of a Hydration Monitoring Device

Maintaining proper fluid balance is essential for metabolism, circulation, and temperature regulation. Physical activity, ambient temperature and humidity, fluid intake, and diet are some of the factors that influence a college student’s hydration status. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of hydration education and the use of a urinal-based hydration monitoring device (HMD) on hydration status in men on a college campus. METHODS: This study was conducted over eight weeks in a first-floor men’s bathroom located in a natural science building. The design consisted of four 2-wk interventions. The order of the treatments was 1) no hydration feedback and no educational posters (control); 2) hydration feedback only; 3) educational posters only; and 4) both educational posters and hydration feedback. Hydration feedback was provided by a light on the urinal-based HMD letting the user know if they were hydrated, slightly dehydrated, or dehydrated. Educational posters contained information on: 1) hydrating foods and beverages; 2) hydration status and urine color; and 3) symptoms of dehydration. Anyone could participate in the study by using the HMD; urine specific gravity (USG) was collected anonymously. Halfway through the study, participants could give feedback on the educational posters and HMD feedback via a survey. RESULTS: USG values were 1.006 ± 0.010 (N = 88), 1.012 ± 0.007 (N = 230), 1.011 ± 0.007 (N = 188), and 1.010 ± 0.006 (N = 167) for the four conditions in sequential order (i.e., control, feedback, educational posters, both). Number of uses and USG (p < 0.001) were lowest in the control condition and may reflect recruitment bias. Limited survey data showed that participants found both HMD feedback (4.2 ± 0.9 out of 5-pt Likert scale; N = 20) and educational posters (4.2 ± 0.8; N = 17) to be beneficial helping them stay hydrated. CONCLUSION: Despite neither the HMD feedback nor the educational posters improving hydration, the limited number of participants who completed the survey found these interventions beneficial. This relatively uncontrolled study had many limitations including anonymous data, unsupervised participation, a single men’s restroom and a possible order effect. However, the HMD and educational posters may be valuable tools for improving hydration on a college campus.