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“When we think of the value of water, we need to realize that over several hundred thousand years of our evolution, humans have consumed mostly water once they pass childhood. We are therefore very well adapted to consuming water as our primary form of hydration. Reduced-fat milk is highly nutritious, providing us with proteins, minerals and vitamins. But otherwise, water—be it from a tap or a bottle—is the preferred beverage at all times.

Barry Popkin
Director, UNC Interdisciplinary Obesity Program, The Carla Smith Chamblee; Distinguished Professor of Global Nutrition, School of Public Health, UNC at Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Supporting Research on the Health Benefits of Water

We are funding research to further our understanding of the health benefits of water. In 2006, Nestlé SA engaged Dr. Barry Popkin, professor of global nutrition at the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, to study the link between water consumption and weight loss. Based on his previous research, Popkin found that people with higher water consumption had healthier diets [Popkin et al (December 2005), Obesity Research 13-12: 2146–2152]. A second 2006 study showed that individuals who drank water while dieting were more likely to lose weight compared to people who drank other beverages [Popkin et al (2006), American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 83: 529– 542]. Moving forward, we will continue to fund research on the health benefits of drinking water for weight management and disease prevention.

Providing Healthful Beverage Product Choices

Most people like to have variation in their beverage choices, and Nestlé Waters strives to provide great-tasting, low-calorie beverages to strike a balance between taste and health. Nestlé Waters products include spring, purified, sparkling, drinking, mineral, distilled, natural fruit flavored and sparkling juice beverages. We also introduced Aquapod®, an 11-ounce spring water product, packaged in round bottles that appeal to children and encourage them to choose water over higher-calorie, sugared beverages.

To encourage kids to be more active and learn healthy habits, such as drinking water, Nestlé Pure Life “created Go-Play! a program in which consumers collect Nestlé Pure Life labels to earn points that can be redeemed toward fitness and sports gear or toward transportation costs for educational field trips at their children’s schools. Any accredited school in the U.S. serving students between kindergarten and eighth grade is eligible. In 2007, Nestlé Waters contributed $286,000 to children’s fitness programming as part of Go-Play!.

In addition to these products, we provide two waters with extra benefits:

• Our Contrex® Natural Mineral Water to to replenish the body with calcium—one liter contains half the recommended daily intake for calcium.

• Our fluoridated waters, including
- Poland Spring® Brand Natural Spring Water with Added Fluoride
- Ozarka® Brand Natural Spring Water with Added Fluoride
- Ice Mountain® Brand Natural Spring Water with Added Fluoride
- Arrowhead® Brand Mountain Spring Water with Natural Fluoride,
all help reduce the risk of tooth decay. Bottled water provides an important and healthful alternative to sugared and caloric drinks.