Drinking behavior and perception of thirst in untrained women during 6 weeks of heat acclimation and outdoor training.

The purposes of this study were to characterize measures of fluid intake and perception of thirst in women over a 6-week period of exercise-heat acclimation and outdoor training and examine if this lengthy acclimation period would result in changes in fluid intake that differ from those previously reported in men utilizing a shorter acclimation protocol of 8-10 days. Voluntary water intake (11-17 degrees C) and perception of thirst were measured in a group of 5 women (21-26 yr) undergoing exercise-heat acclimation for 90 min/day, 3 days/wk (36 degrees C, rh 50-70%) and outdoor training 3 days/wk for 6 weeks. Decreased drinking during acclimation was characterized by a decrease in the number of drinks (35 +/- 10 to 17 +/- 5; p <.