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Water and its dissolved constituents make up the bulk of your body, and determine the nature of nearly every physiological process. In most individuals, approximately 60% of the total weight is water. This percentage varies between 50% and 70%, with the exact value primarily dependent on a person's fat content. Since fat has very low water, individuals with more fat will have a lower overall percentage of body weight as water. In the first sections of this document, we'll examine how the body's water is distributed into several functional compartments, with significant differences in the ionic composition of each. Follow these links to examine these subjects in detail. |
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Copyright 1999, Joe Patlak, Department of Physiology, University
of Vermont. |
