Influence of Beverage Choice on Hydration Status Cognition and Learning in Children

Influence of School Beverage Choice on Hydration Status Cognition and Learning in Primary School Aged Children

The main aim of this clinical trial is to compare the beverage hydration index of three different beverages in primary school-aged children.The Beverage Hydration Index (BHI), compares the hydration value of beverages against plain water. This study will explore the fluid retention capabilities of semi-skimmed milk, milk permeate, and water.

This study will also investigate:

• Identify the most effective beverage for hydration and the potential cognitive and mood benefits.
• To test if these beverages have any effect on gastric emptying
• To test if these beverages have any effect on appetite.
• To test the acceptability and palpability of semi-skimmed milk, milk permeate, and water in primary school-aged children.

Participants will:

• Take part in three study days (one for each beverage)
• Study day will take part between 9:00AM-12:30PM
• Participants will also record their food and fluid consumption the day before and consume a standardised breakfast before each trial.
• The beverage hydration index will be calculated as the mass of urine collected following control (water) consumption divided by the mass of urine collected following treatment.
• Blood and urine samples will be taken to measure hydration
• Breath samples will be taken for gastric emptying rate
• COMPASS (Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System), fNIRS (Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy) and visual analogue scales (VAS) measures will be obtained to assess cognition/mood
• An ad libitum pasta meal will be consumed after the trial to measure appetite, along with blood glucose and GLP-1 and further VAS to measure self reported hunger and fullness.
• A focus group will be held following completion of all three beverage trials, to gather participants opinion of each drink.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dehydration in Children; Thirst; Beverage Hydration Index
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Distilled water; Other: Semi-skimmed milk; Other: Whey permeate

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 13
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
    • Northumbria University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged between 9-11
• Healthy

Exclusion Criteria:

• Psychiatric, neurological or mental disorder.
• Children with any morbidity that might influence hydration status (i.e., renal/cardiovascular/metabolic disease), blood-borne illness, or if they were taking any medications that may impact fluid balance.
• Children that are lactose intolerant
• Children that have any food allergies

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental: Beverage 1; Distilled water	Other: Distilled water; Participants will receive 600ml distilled water with a strawberry flavour, in four equal aliquots across 30 minutes (150ml every 7.5minutes)
Experimental: Experimental: Beverage 2; Semi skimmed milk	Other: Semi-skimmed milk; Participants will receive ~600ml semi-skimmed milk with a strawberry flavour in four equal aliquots across 30minutes (150ml every 7.5minutes).
Experimental: Experimental: Beverage 3; Whey permeate	Other: Whey permeate; Participants will receive ~600ml whey permeate (30g sachet, rehydrated with distilled water)with strawberry flavour in four equal aliquots across 30minutes (150ml every 7.5minutes).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Beverage hydration index	Beverage Hydration index calculated as mass of urine collected following control (water) consumption divided by the mass of urine collected following treatment.	0 minutes after beverage consumption
Beverage hydration index	Beverage Hydration index calculated as mass of urine collected following control (water) consumption divided by the mass of urine collected following treatment.	60 minutes after beverage consumption
Beverage hydration index	Beverage Hydration index calculated as mass of urine collected following control (water) consumption divided by the mass of urine collected following treatment.	120 minutes after beverage consumption

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Net Fluid Balance	Net Fluid balance will be calculated subtracting total urine collected from total liquid consumed	0 minutes after beverage consumption
Urine Osmolality	Urine Osmolality will be measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of water.	0 minutes after beverage consumption
Urine Osmolality	Urine Osmolality will be measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of water.	60 minutes after beverage consumption
Urine Osmolality	Urine Osmolality will be measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of water.	120 minutes after beverage consumption
Net Fluid Balance	Net Fluid balance will be calculated subtracting total urine collected from total	60 minutes after beverage consumption
Net Fluid Balance	Net Fluid balance will be calculated subtracting total urine collected from total	120 minutes after beverage consumption
Urine Osmolality	Urine Osmolality will be measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of water.	-30 minutes before beverage consumption
Serum osmolality	Serum Osmolality will be measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of water.	-30 minutes (before beverage consumption)
Serum Osmolality	Serum Osmolality will be measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of water.	0 minutes after beverage consumption
Serum Osmolality	Serum Osmolality will be measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of water.	30 minutes after beverage consumption
Serum Osmolality	Serum Osmolality will be measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of water.	60 minutes after beverage consumption
Serum Osmolality	Serum Osmolality will be measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of water.	120 minutes after beverage consumption
Gastric emptying rate	Test beverages will be infused with 13C-sodium acetate and evaluated using the 13C breath test. Samples will be analysed to determine the ratio of 13CO2 to 12CO2. The change in this ratio from the baseline to post-beverage samples will be expressed as delta over baseline (DOB).	-30 minutes (before beverage), 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120 minutes (after beverage consumption).
Cognitive function	A collection of five cognitive tasks including choice reaction time, simple reaction time, Stroop, Picture recognition and Corsi blocks via Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS)	-45 minutes (before beverage consumption)
Cognitive function	A collection of five cognitive tasks including choice reaction time, simple reaction time, Stroop, Picture recognition and Corsi blocks via Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS)	45 minutes (after beverage consumption)
Cognitive function	A collection of five cognitive tasks including choice reaction time, simple reaction time, Stroop, Picture recognition and Corsi blocks via Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS)	105 minutes (after beverage consumption)
Neuroimaging	Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) will monitor changes in the blood oxygenation and blood volume that are related to the human brain function. The headband will be worn whilst participants complete the cognitive tasks.	-45 minutes (before beverage consumption)
Neuroimaging	Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) will monitor changes in the blood oxygenation and blood volume that are related to the human brain function. The headband will be worn whilst participants complete the cognitive tasks.	45 minutes (after beverage consumption)
Neuroimaging	Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) will monitor changes in the blood oxygenation and blood volume that are related to the human brain function. The headband will be worn whilst participants complete the cognitive tasks.	105 minutes (after beverage consumption)
Subjective mood and appetite	Mood measured with visual analogue scale (VAS) on 100 mm horizontal lines. Additional VAS will be completed for thirst and appetite. Participants will simply mark a vertical line between the anchored terms, which they feel fittingly, represents how they are feeling at that time. For example, the happiness VAS will have the terms "very happy" printed on the right-hand side of the scale and "very sad" on the left-hand side. The hunger and thirst scales will have 'not hungry or thirsty' printed on the left-hand side and 'very hungry or thirsty' on the right-hand side. A low score will demonstrate that the child had put a mark at the 'not' end of the scale, a high score would show that the child had put a mark at the 'very' end of the scale.	-30 minutes (before beverage consumption), 0, 45, 105, 120 and 150minutes (after beverage consumption)
Subjective beverage acceptability	Subjective beverage palatability and acceptability measured with visual analogue scale (VAS) on 100 mm horizontal lines. Participants will simply mark a vertical line between the anchored terms, which they feel fittingly, represents how they are feeling at that time. The participants will score terms "sour, sweet, salty, taste, hydrating, stomach bloating, drink again". The score of 0 will indicate they dislike and the score of 100 will indicate they like the beverages.	0 minutes (immediately after beverage consumption)
Ad libitum meal	Lunchtime food intake will be assessed from a standardised pasta meal offered ad libitum. Energy intake will be calculated based on the amount consumed and the nutritional information provided Nutritics. The meal will be weighed before and immediately after the participant finished eating.	120-150 minutes (after beverage consumption)
Blood glucose	Blood glucose concentrations will be measured instantly using the glucose oxidase method with an automated glucose analyser	At 120 minutes and 150 minutes (before after the ad-libitum lunch meal)
Focus group	After all participants have completed their trials, a focus group will be held to gather the children's options on the drinks.	Following completion of all beverage trials, an average of 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Northumbria University
• Collaborators: University of Surrey
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Catrin Roberts, PhD, Northumbria University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 26, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 17, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): December 17, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 21, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 27, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): December 2, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 11, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 4, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Cognition; Gastric emptying; Appetite
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Metabolic Diseases; Water-Electrolyte Imbalance; Dehydration; Therapeutics; Diet, Food, and Nutrition; Physiological Phenomena; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Diet Therapy; Nutrition Therapy; Diet; Diet, Fat-Restricted
• Other Study ID Numbers: NorthumbriaU(CR/PR)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No