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How much water per day (EFSA reference)

See how much water a day is considered adequate by the European Food Safety Authority (about 68 fl oz, or 2.0 L, for women and 85 fl oz, or 2.5 L, for men, more in pregnancy and while breastfeeding), and log what you drink today to see how you are doing.

Your reference

68 fl oz of water a day (2.0 L)

This is total water: drinks of every kind plus the water in food. Since food usually provides 20 to 30% of it, drinks would cover about 47 to 54 fl oz.

For moderate temperatures and moderate physical activity. Heat, exercise, fever, vomiting, or diarrhea make you lose more water.

How it is calculated

The figures are the adequate intakes of total water that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set for adults in 2010: 2.0 L (68 fl oz) a day for women and 2.5 L (85 fl oz) for men, at moderate temperatures and moderate physical activity. In pregnancy, EFSA proposes the same figure plus 0.3 L (10 fl oz) a day, in proportion to the higher energy intake; while breastfeeding, about 0.7 L (24 fl oz) more.

Total water per day according to EFSA, and the share that usually comes from drinks
SituationTotal waterFrom drinks (70 to 80%)
Women68 fl oz (2.0 L)47 to 54 fl oz (1.4 to 1.6 L)
Men85 fl oz (2.5 L)61 to 68 fl oz (1.8 to 2.0 L)
Pregnancy78 fl oz (2.3 L)54 to 61 fl oz (1.6 to 1.8 L)
Breastfeeding91 fl oz (2.7 L)64 to 74 fl oz (1.9 to 2.2 L)
  • Water from food. EFSA’s figures add up the water from drinks of every kind and from food. In a varied diet, food provides around 20 to 30% of total water, the share EFSA uses, although it varies a lot with what you eat. On a GLP-1 medication people eat much less, so less water comes in with food too: if you eat little, drinks count for more.
  • The US reference is higher. In 2004, the National Academies set adequate intakes of total water of about 2.7 L (91 fl oz) a day for women and 3.7 L (125 fl oz) for men, based on what adequately hydrated people in the US typically consume, and noted that thirst is a good guide for most healthy people. This tool keeps EFSA’s figures, the same as the Spanish version of this page; neither reference is a target you have to reach every day.
  • The tracker. A glass counts as 250 ml (about 8.5 fl oz), a cup as 200 ml (about 6.8 fl oz), and a bowl of soup or broth as 250 ml; these are our own round measures, not EFSA’s. Soup counts as a drink because it is mostly water. We compare it with the drinks share of your reference: total water minus the 20 to 30% that usually comes from food.
  • Where it is saved. Sex, stage, and units go in the page address. What you log is saved only in your browser, for today, and resets when the day changes. Nothing is sent anywhere.
  • Limits. These are references for healthy adults in moderate heat and activity. They do not apply to children or to people with heart failure, kidney disease, or other conditions in which a doctor limits or adjusts fluids.

Further reading

Sources

Guidelines and papers the calculation is based on, with the access date.

  1. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA). Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for water. EFSA Journal. 2010;8(3):1459. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). accessed .
  2. Report sets dietary intake levels for water, salt, and potassium to maintain health and reduce chronic disease risk (Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate, 2004). National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. accessed .
  3. Dehydration. MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine (NIH). accessed .
  4. Heart failure - fluids and diuretics. MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine (NIH). accessed .
  5. Diet - chronic kidney disease. MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine (NIH). accessed .