Blood, Electrolytes, and Intravenous Infusions
2-2
2-2. NORMAL FLUID CONTENT IN THE BODY
The average 70 kilogram (or 154 pound) adult male's body weight is approximately 60 to 70 percent water (see figure 2-1). The more a person weighs (not including body fat), the more water his body contains. The more fat is present in the body, the less will be the total water content per unit of body weight. Fat has almost no water, so fat people have lower water content per pound of body weight than slender people. Water may account for 50 percent or less of their body weight. A newborn infant may have 80 percent of total body weight in water. This proportion decreases gradually as the child grows older and fat is added to the body.
