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Do you really need 8 cups of water a day? UW study weighs in

It depends on what food and other beverages you consume, along with factors such as your age, sex, size, physical activity and climate, a study involving UW-Madison researchers says.

The study analyzed 5,600 people in 26 counties, looking at their water turnover, or the amount they took in and lost each day. Subjects drank water labeled with hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, a method first used in people at UW-Madison in the 1980s, allowing scientists to track water replacement and calories burned.