Efficacy of a Smart Water Bottle Intervention to Increase Fluid Consumption in College Students

NCT06259799 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: MZ
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Approximately 60% of males and 40% of females do not meet current fluid intake recommendations, which is associated with adverse health consequences such as obesity, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. Newer technologies have been designed to promote fluid intake. "Smart Water Bottles" use mHealth technology to capture fluid intake behaviors automatically and provide cues to encourage fluid consumption. Studies using Smart Water Bottles have helped some individuals increase fluid intake to help reduce kidney stone formation. However, limited research has assessed the efficacy of this technology on improving fluid intake in college students. College is a time with the potential to form healthy habits that carry into adulthood. Previous work has also identified daily changes in morning urine color, thirst perception, and body mass, as simple, inexpensive indicators of daily fluctuations in water balance. Tracking changes in these metrics has the potential to provide participants with evidence of adequate or inadequate fluid consumption. Thus, the combination of prompting from a smart water bottle, as well as daily self-monitoring changes in hydration status, may encourage college students to increase daily fluid consumption.

Conditions

Dehydration

Keywords

underhydration; copeptin; urine; water

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Total Fluid Intake

  Total Fluid Intake will be reported by participants for 3 days before and after the intervention using a validated fluid log. The average of 3-days of fluid recording will be used.

  Pre and Post 2-week intervention

• Changes in 24h urine osmolality

  Urinary osmolality reflects the concentration of urine, with higher values indicative of worse hydration. Urine osmolality will be collected for 3 days at the start and end of the study, with the average of each 3 day period used for analyses.

  Pre and Post 2-week intervention

• Changes in 24h urine volume

  Higher urine volume tends to correspond with greater fluid intake.

  Pre and Post 2-week intervention

Secondary Outcomes (8)

• Change in urine color measured by validated urine color chart

  Pre and Post 2-week intervention

• Changes in calorie intake from dietary log.

  Pre and Post 2-week intervention

• Change in copeptin

  Pre and Post 2-week intervention

• Change in urine specific gravity

  Pre and Post 2-week intervention

• Change in body water distribution

  Pre and Post 2-week intervention

Study Arms (2)

Smart Water Bottle

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the intervention group will be prompted by the water bottle to drink (bottle will light up red) whenever they are behind on fluid intake recommendations for the day. The bottle will be linked to a smart phone application that participants will be instructed to download on their personal mobile device, but they will log into this device using a researcher provided username and password. The bottle will encourage male participants to consume 2.5 L and for female participants to consume 2.0 L of fluid. Participants will be asked to use this bottle to consume all water and enter any additional sources of fluid using the mobile application. The intervention group will also be asked to record their daily perceived thirst, first morning urine color, and body mass as a means of self-monitoring daily changes in hydration status, using a provided paper log.

Behavioral: Smart Water Bottle

Control

NO INTERVENTION

The control group will be asked to go about daily activities as normal. They will not receive the water bottle and will not be asked to track daily measures of thirst, morning urine color, or body mass.

Interventions

Smart Water Bottle BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the intervention group will receive a bottle which measures participant fluid consumption. The bottle will be set to recommend 2.5L for male participants and 2.0L for female participants, consistent with fluid intake recommendations from the European Food Safety Authority for each sex. Participants will be prompted by the bottle (bottle will light up) when they are behind on fluid intake recommendations. Participants will use a validated urine color chart, 9 point Likert scale for thirst, and measure nude body mass on their own each morning. Participants will be informed that higher values for nude body mass and thirst, and lower values for nude body mass each morning may indicate they are less hydrated day-to-day.

Smart Water Bottle

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 35 Years
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Participants must report currently drinking less than the European Food Safety Authority Recommendations for fluid, as determined by an online pre-screening survey (\<2.5 L per day for males; \<2.0 L per day for females).
• Has access to a cell phone which can download the app associated with the Smart Water Bottle.

You may not qualify if:

• Currently trying to gain or lose weight
• Have had surgery of the digestive tract
• Currently taking diuretics (e.g., Thiazide, Loop diuretics or potassium-sparing diuretics)
• Currently taking centrally-acting medications (e.g., anesthetics, anticonvulsants, central nervous system stimulants/amphetamines, muscle relaxants)
• Report currently consuming at least the European Food Safety Authority Recommendations for fluid, as determined by an online pre-screening survey (\>= 2.5 L per day for males, \>=2.0 L per day for females).
• Currently pregnant (females)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Kennesaw State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Kennesaw State University

Kennesaw, Georgia, 30144, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Dehydration; Diabetes Insipidus

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Water-Electrolyte Imbalance; Metabolic Diseases; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Kidney Diseases; Urologic Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Urogenital Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Pituitary Diseases; Endocrine System Diseases

Central Study Contacts

Mitchell E Zaplatosch, PhD

CONTACT

4705787600; mzaplato@kennesaw.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 7, 2024
• First Posted: February 14, 2024
• Study Start: April 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2025
• Study Completion: April 1, 2026
• Last Updated: September 2, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)