Not Eating Enough: Overcoming Underconsumption of Military Operational Rations

摘要

The Committee on Military Nutrition Research (CMNR) has reviewed many studiesover the past 10 years that evaluated the acceptance and intake of military food items as part of its continuing task of assessing the nutritional adequacy of military operational rations (see lOM, 1992a for summary). The current main operational ration, the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRF), was developed in 1981 as the primary ration to replace the C Ration, which had been the mainstay of operational rations for many years. The MRE is compact, has a long shelf life, and can be issued directly to the individual soldier. It can be eaten with or without heating, and the 3,600 kcal provided by the total ration was designed to meet the Military Recommended Dietary Allowances (MRDAs) (see AR 40-25, 1985) for all nutrients. The MRE was initially developed for use up to 3 days at the start of military operations until other field feeding systems became available. The simplicity of this system, logistically and in terms of reduced need for food preparation personnel, led to the desire to use this ration for extended periods of time (i.e., 10 to 30 days). Field testing was thus ordered to evaluate the effectiveness of the MRE over extended periods of time. Summaries of these field studies can be found in Chapters 6 through 10 of this volume.