DEVELOPMENT AND BIOMEDICAL TESTING OF MILITARY OPERATIONAL RATIONS

This article gives a brief history of military nutrition research in t his century and reviews recent advances made through field testing. Al though modern rations are nutritionally complete, ration developers ar e challenged to improve palatability to promote increased intakes in h eld training and combat settings. The principal goal for military nutr itionists is to identify the optimal macronutrient mix and specific ra tion components that sustain a soldier's performance in the face of op erational stressors such as sleep deprivation, intense physical activi ty, climatic extremes, and hypobaric hypoxia. Energy expenditures duri ng typical field-training exercises average approximately 4000 kcal/da y, whereas energy intakes are usually 3000 kcal/day or less when opera tional rations are consumed. One way to ameliorate the effects of this shortfall is to provide soldiers with a carbohydrate beverage supplem ent.