Not Eating Enough

Eating enough food to meet nutritional needs and maintain good health and good performance in all aspects of life—both at home and on the job—is important for all of us throughout our lives. For military personnel, however, this presents a special challenge. Although soldiers typically have a number of options for eating when stationed on a base, in the field during missions their meals come in the form of operational rations. Unfortunately, military personnel in training and field operations often do not eat their rations in the amounts needed to ensure that they meet their energy and nutrient requirements and consequently lose weight and potentially risk loss of effectiveness both in physical and cognitive performance. This book contains 20 chapters by military and nonmilitary scientists from such fields as food science, food marketing and engineering, nutrition, physiology, psychology, and various medical specialties. Although described within a context of military tasks, the committee's conclusions and recommendations have wide-reaching implications for people who find that job-related stress changes their eating habits.Table of ContentsFront MatterI Committee Summary and Recommendations1 Introduction and Background2 Conclusions and RecommendationsII Background and Introduction to the Topic3 Introduction to the Concepts and Issues: Underlying Underconsumption in Military Settings4 Army Field Feeding System-Future5 Commanders' Perceptions and Attitudes About Their Responsibilities for Feeding Soldiers6 Nutritional Criteria for Development and Testing of Military Field Rations: An Historical Perspective7 Evolution of Rations: The Pursuit of Universal Acceptance8 An Overview of Dietary Intakes During Military Exercises9 The Effects of Ration Modifications on Energy Intake, Body Weight ChangeIII Factors Underlying Food Intake and Underconsumption--Food10 The Role of Image, Stereotypes, and Expectations on the Acceptance and Consumption of Rations11 Effects of Food Quality, Quantity, and Variety on Intake12 Effects of Beverage Consumption and Hydration Status on Caloric Intake13 Industry Approaches to Food ResearchIV Underconsumption and Performance14 When Does Energy Deficit Affect Soldier Physical Performance?15 Impact of Underconsumption on Cognitive Performance16 The Functional Effects of Carbohydrate and Energy UnderconsumptionV Factors Underlying Food Intake and Underconsumption--The Eating Situation and Social Issues17 The Physical Eating Situation18 Eating Situations, Food Appropriateness, and Consumption19 From Biologic Rhythms to Chronomes Relevant to Nutrition20 Social Facilitation and Inhibition of Eating21 Lessons from Eating Disorders22 A Plan to Overcome Ration UnderconsumptionAppendixesA Biographical SketchesB AbbreviationsC Factors Related to Underconsumption --A Selected BibliographyIndex