The Average Percentage of Water Weight

Written by Mike Cottrill

17 October, 2013

Water is the most abundant element on the face of the earth. Like the earth, our bodies are mostly composed of water. Without water, we can only survive for a couple of days. In fact, water helps to regulate bodily temperature, dispose of waste, give integrity and fluidity to the blood, and provide cushion to the joints. It also assists in the absorption of vitamins minerals and other nutrients.

Water Weight

If you weigh approximately 160 pounds, your body will contain about 12 gallons of water. That means that of your 160 pounds, 96 are just water. Blood is about 85 percent water, muscle is about 75 percent water, bone is about 20 percent water and fat is about 10 percent water. Also, consider that a water loss of 1 to 2 percent can result in you feeling substantial energy loss and lethargy.

If you weigh approximately 160 pounds, your body will contain about 12 gallons of water.

Water Loss

How Many Liters of Water Should You Drink?

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Water is constantly being lost from the body. It is lost through sweating, waste -- urine and feces -- disposal, vapor exchange through breathing and via heat loss. In fact, our bodies must excrete approximately half a liter of water every day just to keep up to the waste production of our metabolic activities. In conjunction, if you are exercising vigorously you can lose up to six cups of water per hour.

Water is constantly being lost from the body.
In conjunction, if you are exercising vigorously you can lose up to six cups of water per hour.

Average Percentage

The fact that your body is 60 percent water is approximate. The percentage of water will vary from person to person. The reason for this is that everybody's fat composition is different. This reasoning will be the same when considering that men and younger people's bodies will contain more water than women and older people, because of the fact that women and the elderly generally carry more fat.

The fact that your body is 60 percent water is approximate.
This reasoning will be the same when considering that men and younger people's bodies will contain more water than women and older people, because of the fact that women and the elderly generally carry more fat.

Water Percentage

The Effects of Wasting Water

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The consumption of water does not just revolve around the drinking of water as a fluid. Water is a component of everything we drink and eat. For instance: a watermelon is about 90 percent water, but peanut butter is only about 1 percent; a mushroom is about 90 percent water and a banana is about 75 percent; lettuce is almost 100 percent water and an egg is about 75 percent. However, the best way to replenish the water we lose on a daily basis is to drink fresh water.