July 21, 2026, 11:03 am | Read time: 8 minutes

Drinking Water with Meals–A Controversial Topic

The idea that water during meals negatively impacts digestion has proven to be a myth. Instead, moderate fluid intake might help the food bolus produced during chewing move more easily toward the gastrointestinal tract. This was explained by a nutritionist in a previous interview with FITBOOK.

Today, the widespread recommendation goes in the opposite direction: Drinking water with meals is said to fill the stomach, make you feel full faster, and thus reduce food intake. In this way, drinking during meals could help with weight loss.

At first glance, this assumption sounds plausible. However, the scientific connection is not clearly established. While some studies suggest that water can reduce food intake, others found no measurable effect. Nutrition researcher Dr. Paige Cunningham from Cornell University in New York reports this in a press release.¹ In some cases, even the opposite correlation was observed. To better understand the contradictory results, Cunningham and her colleague Dr. John Hayes from Pennsylvania State University systematically examined the impact of drinking water during a meal on the actual amount of food consumed.²

Details of the Study

The study particularly focused on the so-called “switching” behavior. This refers to the tendency of individuals to frequently alternate between eating and drinking during a meal, such as taking a sip of water after each bite.

The analysis is based on two previously published experiments that originally investigated whether spicier meals affect eating speed and the amount of food consumed. For the current study, data from both experiments were combined and jointly evaluated.

The researchers used the available datasets to examine whether the amount of water consumed, different drinking patterns, and frequent switching between eating and drinking are related to the amount of food and energy intake. They also assessed whether these factors influence the effect of spiciness on eating behavior.

Participants Ate and Drank Under Observation

A total of 86 adults participated in the research. They were on average 37 years old and had a mean BMI of 25.6–about 44 percent of the participants were overweight or obese according to the index. The women (who made up about 71 percent of the group) and men came to the lab on two occasions, where they were each provided with a lunch. Options included 650 grams of beef chili or 650 grams of chicken tikka masala. Additionally, 450 grams of water was available. The spiciness of the dishes depended on the proportion of hot and mild paprika seasoning.

During the meal, participants were filmed. The researchers recorded the total amount of food consumed and analyzed the video footage for the following behavioral parameters:

• the number of sips of water,
• the size of each sip,
• the drinking speed in grams per minute, and
• the number of switches between bites and sips.

Result: Drinking Water During Meals Increases Food Intake

The key finding in the examined context was that participants who drank more water during the meal also consumed larger amounts of food and more calories on average. Higher water intake equaled higher food and calorie intake–the researchers describe this finding as statistically significant.

In particular, frequent switching between eating and drinking, known as “switching,” apparently increased food intake. People who switched more often between eating and drinking water during the meal tended to consume more food, the authors note.

Now to the influence of spiciness on eating behavior and how water affects this: The original studies showed that higher spiciness in meals made study participants eat slower and consume less food. The additional analysis examined whether drinking water could mitigate this effect. However, this was not the case: Neither the amount of water consumed nor frequent switching between bites and sips influenced the effect of spiciness on food intake.

Also interesting: Is it (un)healthy to eat spicy food?

It was also interesting that water intake and the number of sips remained relatively consistent for many people. They drank about the same amount regardless of whether their meal was milder or spicier.

Possible Implications of the Study

Overall, the analysis suggests that drinking more during meals does not automatically lead to eating less. Under the conditions studied, it was even associated with higher intake.

The study thus questions a common everyday tip. Many people try to use water as a kind of appetite suppressant. The available data initially suggests that this trick does not work.

Particularly the examined “switching” behavior could be an underestimated factor for unnecessarily prolonged meals, according to the authors. FITBOOK asked study author Dr. Paige Cunningham why this is the case.

Study Author Explains Underlying Phenomenon to FITBOOK

The author refers to the phenomenon of sensory-specific satiety: The longer we eat a particular food, the more its appeal diminishes. Eventually, we no longer find it particularly pleasant and stop eating.

In her assessment, frequent switching between different stimuli–such as between eating and drinking water–could delay this process. The sensory contrasts might cause a meal to last longer and result in more food being consumed overall. This so-called “switching” is still a relatively young research field. The connection is not yet fully understood, but according to Dr. Cunningham, it could be an interesting starting point for behavioral interventions.

Water Dissipates Relatively Quickly–With One Exception

At the same time, the author emphasizes that water leaves the stomach relatively quickly and therefore likely does not have a lasting impact on the feeling of fullness. Instead, water can quench thirst during the meal, extend the enjoyment of eating, and speed up eating–factors that tend to be associated with higher energy intake. However, a possible exception could be older adults, whose stomachs empty more slowly.

Important: The new analysis explicitly focused on drinking water during meals. Previous studies had partially shown that drinking water before a meal can reduce food intake, at least in certain groups–primarily older adults.

Interestingly, the evaluated data suggests that people with higher body weight drink water faster and more regularly throughout the meal. Similar correlations have already been observed in studies with children, sometimes even in connection with a higher body fat percentage later in life.³

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»Study Only the First Step

The author explicitly classifies the results as preliminary. “This study is really just a first step,” she says. Much more research is needed to determine whether the observed correlations are truly causal. Additionally, it remains unclear whether the results can be applied to other foods and meals–such as dinners or snacks–and to everyday situations outside the lab. The type of beverage, such as flavored or sugary drinks, could also play an important role. The research team plans to further investigate these questions in future studies.

At the conclusion of their work, the authors emphasize that water is, of course, an important food for overall health. However, the results suggest that one should not assume that drinking water during meals reduces calorie intake. For body weight, total energy intake remains crucial.

Limitations

The results can only be interpreted with limitations overall. This is partly because water intake was not the original focus of the two studies. The analysis can therefore only show that certain drinking patterns are related to food intake–it cannot prove that water directly determines whether a person eats more or less.

Furthermore, as researcher Cunningham emphasized to FITBOOK, it remains open whether the results can be transferred to different meals–not just the studied dishes, chili and tikka masala. It should also be considered that food intake occurred under controlled laboratory conditions and observation. This means it cannot be ruled out that participants behaved differently than they would in everyday life. Outside of a study context, people often eat in social situations, consume different beverages, and are not under camera observation. Therefore, the transferability of the results to real eating behavior is limited.

The reliability of the study is further limited by the relatively small sample size of 86 people, which predominantly consisted of white women. Therefore, the results are not necessarily transferable to different population groups. Additionally, the information on various influencing factors such as participants’ height and weight was partly based on self-reports, so erroneous (e.g., outdated) values cannot be ruled out.

Moreover, the study exclusively captured acute food intake during individual meals. Statements about whether more frequent drinking during meals has long-term effects on body weight are not possible based on these data.