National Academies Press: OpenBook

Not Eating Enough: Overcoming Underconsumption of Military Operational Rations (1995)

Chapter: V Factors Underlying Food Intake and Underconsumption--The Eating Situation and Social Issues

« Previous: 16 The Functional Effects of Carbohydrate and Energy Underconsumption
Suggested Citation:"V Factors Underlying Food Intake and Underconsumption--The Eating Situation and Social Issues." Institute of Medicine. 1995. Not Eating Enough: Overcoming Underconsumption of Military Operational Rations. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5002.
×

Part V
Factors Underlying Food Intake and Underconsumption—The Eating Situation and Social Issues

IN PART V, THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL aspects of the eating situation are reviewed. As reported in Chapter 16, the physical situation of the field setting can adversely affect ration intake because of changes in meal timing, frequency, duration, regularity, and predictability. The author suggests improving the economics of the eating situation through beverage and ration supply during deployment; when and how long soldiers eat; ration type that maximizes sensory and hedonic appeal while minimizing preparation; and creating a more ''meal"-like situation. An economic perspective is described as one way to integrate the development, testing, and use of military operational rations.

This is followed by an evaluation of food appropriateness to the eating situation in Chapter 18. Using consumer behavior and food cognitive-context research, the usefulness of appropriateness measures in ration development is highlighted. The person, food item, and eating situation interact with each other; therefore, it is important to consumption to match the ration to the environment for the soldier.

The discussion of chronobiology and biologic rhythms in Chapter 19 focuses on the influence that meal timing has on physiologic functions. For body weight maintenance, meals should be scheduled at the physiologically and logistically most useful times. A series of studies shows that meals scheduled at the conclusion of activity periods may enhance food intake.

In Chapter 20, research on the social facilitation of food intake suggests that food intake is increased by social setting. People eat more in the presence

Suggested Citation:"V Factors Underlying Food Intake and Underconsumption--The Eating Situation and Social Issues." Institute of Medicine. 1995. Not Eating Enough: Overcoming Underconsumption of Military Operational Rations. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5002.
×

of others for a variety of reasons, with two of the most important being disinhibition and increased amount of time for the meal. Based on this research, group feeding and modeling are two social factors that can be employed to try to increase soldier intake. Clinical underconsumption (i.e., eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder) is the subject of Chapter 21. The familial, biological, behavioral, psychological, and cognitive aspects of eating disorders are presented for theoretical comparison with soldier underconsumption.

Finally, a proposal for increased ration consumption by the U.S. Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center (NRDEC) is outlined in Chapter 22. The author reviews strategies for improving consumption and acceptance of military operational rations and their effect using the relevant chapters in this volume. Long-term plans include designing new rations and increasing variety in current rations.

Suggested Citation:"V Factors Underlying Food Intake and Underconsumption--The Eating Situation and Social Issues." Institute of Medicine. 1995. Not Eating Enough: Overcoming Underconsumption of Military Operational Rations. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5002.
×
Page 317
Suggested Citation:"V Factors Underlying Food Intake and Underconsumption--The Eating Situation and Social Issues." Institute of Medicine. 1995. Not Eating Enough: Overcoming Underconsumption of Military Operational Rations. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5002.
×
Page 318
Next: 17 The Physical Eating Situation »
Not Eating Enough: Overcoming Underconsumption of Military Operational Rations Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $70.00 Buy Ebook | $54.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

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.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!