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

NCT ID: NCT06259799

Last Updated: 2025-09-02

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 30 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-04-01
• Study Completion Date: 2026-04-30

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

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Smart Water Bottle

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.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Smart Water Bottle

Intervention Type: 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.

Control

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.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Smart Water Bottle

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.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 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.

Exclusion Criteria

• 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)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Kennesaw State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Kennesaw State University

Kennesaw, Georgia, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Mitchell E Zaplatosch, PhD

Role: CONTACT

mzaplato@kennesaw.edu

4705787600

Facility Contacts

Mitchell Zaplatosch, PhD

Role: primary

mzaplato@kennesaw.edu

Other Identifiers

MZ

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id