Ein häufiger Grund für das Trinken von Wasser zu den Mahlzeiten ist, dass es den Magen körperlich dehnt und ein Sättigungsgefühl auslöst, sodass man nicht zu viel isst. Eine neue Studie fand jedoch keine Unterstützung dafür. Stattdessen aßen die Menschen für jede zusätzlich getrunkene 100 Gramm Wasser etwa 39 Gramm Nahrung mehr – etwa 49 Kalorien mehr.
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/07/common-diet-tips-about-water-intake-and-spicy-foods-could-be-dead-wrong
26 Kommentare
The common rationale for drinking water at meals is that it physically stretches the stomach, triggering fullness so you don’t eat too much.
But [a new Cornell study found no support](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666326002606) for that idea in practice.
Instead, for every additional 100 grams of water participants drank, they ate about 39 more grams of food – roughly 49 more calories. People who frequently switched back and forth between bites of food and sips of water ate even more: each additional switch was tied to about 4.4 more grams of food consumed.
Researchers suspect this “switching” effect works by delaying something called sensory-specific satiety – the way a food’s appeal naturally fades the longer you eat it. Alternating with water may reintroduce contrast that keeps the meal appealing longer, delaying the point at which people stop eating.
“There’s been this widespread advice that if we drink water, it fills us up,” said [Paige Cunningham](https://human.cornell.edu/people/paige-cunningham), assistant professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Human Ecology. “But water is emptied quickly from the stomach so it likely doesn’t fill us up for long. Instead, water may increase how much we eat, providing lubrication which can speed up eating, and preventing a dry mouth which can prolong enjoyment of the food.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666326002606
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone mention this „common rationale“ in my life.
I drink water at meals for hydration.
Competitive eaters know this. Water is lubrication and keeps food from getting boring too quickly.
I always heard the „drink 2 full glasses of water before you eat“ trick because it makes you feel more full, isn’t that different than casually taking a few sips throughout the meal? I skimmed through the study and didn’t find them mentioning this.
But given this context (small sips throughout the meal) I do agree, casually sipping does make me enjoy the food more and therefore more likely to eat more.
Makes sense. My grandmother still tells me to not drink water immediately before and after meals.
I have never heard this. I drink water so I can eat more.
If I can’t drink water while eating, or some sort of liquid, and it’s a moderately dry meal, there is no way I’ll be able to finish it.
I have heard this too, and never bought into it. Frankly I will usually only drink water with a meal because it allows me to experience the full flavor of the food.
Now… that said, I have found that if I drink a glass of milk before a meal, I will eat less, but that is more understandable.
I have water with every meal, because it is hydrating. I’ve never once though to myself “ooh let me drink some water so I don’t eat too much”
I’ve never heard anyone say that.
I swear I’ve seen this “Diet Hack!” mentioned on Reddit many times.
But doesn’t water dilute the stomach acid so that the food is not properly digested and dissolved?
I have something to drink with dinner because it’s nice to have a drink with dinner. Who are these people doing it as a food replacement? Are they in the room with us right now?
This is why I only drink whiskey. Science says it makes me skinny.
I think the issue is the amount of water being discussed. I can attest from personal experience it can induce fullness. I have a swallowing issue left over from cancer treatments when I was much younger and I can’t swallow solid foods without water to push it down. I CAN eat however. Point is a normal slice of pizza takes me 2-3 pints of water to wash down and I can promise you full is the feeling.
I’ll be ready to eat more in 45 minutes or so yeah I gotta pee all the time
I always do this before visiting buffet restaurants so I’m able to eat more. The water stretches your stomach without offering calories so you get even more hungry
Or mayyyyybe you are drinking more water to wash down more food…?
Have these authors ever eaten before?
I do t think this is common at all outside of competitive eating and maybe people who obsess over life hacking their body for peak efficiency.
Those are not things common people commonly do.
Hard to call this “common rationale” with no other qualifiers
Common rationale? Apparently not so common because no one has ever heard of it.
I’ve heard common rationale in the opposite – that you shouldn’t drink too much water because it will water down the enzymes that help break down your food leading to poor digestion.
And here I was drinking water at meals because I was thirsty
Why would water “stretch the stomach” any more than any other liquid or the food being consumed?
Ozempic would work better to stop people from over eating
Water just lubricates the throat and gut so you can eat more. It’s been obvious for decades.
Hell, my school used to do a charity „challenge“ of eating 3 small dry crackers in under a minute to „win a prize“. Most people simply can’t do it, because you need water to make the throat work properly.
You drink water at meals so you don’t choke or dry out your throat. Of course it’s increasing the active surface area of the food (which is now covered in a layer of liquid!), promoting digestion, and helping things along.
i do a lot of phsical labour and if i dont drink enough water i cant get food down.
hahahaha, my wife was talking to my kids about this last night, trying to convince them to drink water, because my son was stubborn about eating good food. and was still hungry. I assumed she was right, but obviously she was off. This is good to know.
I have nothing but anecdotal evidence, but this absolutely matches my experience. You have to do portion control and discipline. You can’t try to fill up on nothing and expect your body not to notice.
15 years ago my biology teacher teached us that if you drank water while you eat, you also get hungry faster, so I always thought that drinking water while eating makes people eat more during the day.
He also showed us a video about a experiment about this, it tested on military people that drank water while eating and those who did not, who drank water got hungrier faster