By David Saunders | UPDATED: 07:28, 17 April 2020
With an emphasis on keeping hydrated and healthy now, more so than ever – a new report by microdrink brand, waterdrop, reveals the drinking habits of Brits and their attitudes towards tap water in particular.
The study by waterdrop found that despite the daily recommended consumption of water being two litres, just under one fifth (18%) of the nation drinks over this amount, with a staggering 64% of Brits admitting they drink under the recommended daily consumption.
1 in 10 Brits also admitted to never drinking tap water and will only drink filtered water. On top of this, 16% of those struggling to get their daily intake of water, said they need a reminder to help them.
Whilst 18% of Brits revealed that water is their favourite drink, the main reasons found for not getting their daily amount included ‘getting bored of the taste’ (17%) but also cited that ‘adding flavours help/would help them drink more water’ (18%).
Unsurprisingly, the nation’s most regularly consumed drink, is a cup of tea (54%), followed shortly by tap water (53%) and coffee (52%). Cardiff was cited as the city with the most regular tea drinkers (67%) followed by Brighton and Plymouth (both 63%).
Top ten most regularly consumed beverages:
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Tea (54%)
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Tap water (53%)
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Coffee (52%)
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Fizzy drinks (44%)
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Beer (26%)
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Wine (24%)
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Flavoured water (23%)
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Mineral water (still or sparkling) (22%)
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Spirits (gin, vodka etc) (21%)
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Other hot drinks (11%)
With more of us currently working from home than ever before Brits cited drinking more water in an office environment (27%) compared with working from home (24%) showing many may be struggling to stay hydrated in the current climate.
The nations drinking habits vary across the UK, with over two thirds (68%) of Leicester drinking tap water daily, compared to just 39% of people in Belfast.
There is a clear divide of water-drinkers across generations, with Gen Z drinking over 1.5 litres per day but baby boomers only managing one litre a day (just half of the recommended daily amount).
Surprisingly men drink 12% more water per day than women, with men drinking on average 1.4l per day and women only 1.25l.
Martin Donald Murray, CEO at waterdrop®, commented: “Having recently launched in the UK we wanted to commission this research to understand how Brits feel about the water they are drinking. We know drinking the recommended daily amount is an important part of maintaining our health, so we are surprised to find that just 18% of the UK are hitting this amount per day.”
“It is encouraging to hear that people would be tempted to drink more water by adding flavours to their drinks (18%) and that 9% would drink more water out of a ‘nice looking’ water bottle. Our aim is to to encourage people to drink more water but ultimately to make hydration exciting. We hope that our range of nutritious microdrinks and bottles can help keep Brits hydrated, energised and focused.”