Last week in Watertown, Wis., First Lady Michelle Obama and actress Eva Longoria announced the Partnership for a Healthier America’s new effort called “Drink Up” to get Americans to drink more water for health benefits.
“I’ve come to realize that if we were going to take just one step to make ourselves and our families healthier, probably the single best thing we could do is to simply drink more water,” the First Lady said in a statement. “That’s it–it’s really that simple. Drink just one more glass of water a day and you can make a real difference for your health, your energy and the way you feel.”
I get it. I know you can drink a glass of water before a meal to make you fuller. Or replace a can of soda with a glass of water. However, telling people to drink more water is like saying stop smoking, eat healthier, be more active, etc. In other words, people understand the logic behind it, but they simply don’t care and thus won’t follow the advice.
I’ve read some criticism, including the obvious ones from Republicans (yes, they can even attack water!), but the one with some expertise behind it is this quotation, which every media outlet has been posting:
“There really isn’t data to support this,” Stanley Goldfarb, a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, said. “I think, unfortunately, frankly, they’re not basing this on really hard science. It’s not a very scientific approach they’ve taken. To make it a major public health effort, I think I would say it’s bizarre.”
Looking at some of the early supporters, none is surprising: Aquafina, DASANI, EVIAN Natural Spring Water and Ice Mountain, among other bottled water brands.
I’m curious, what do you think of this campaign? Worthwhile? A waste of time?
Tags: Drink Up
