Assessing Readiness in Military Women The Relationship of Body, Composition, Nutrition, and Health (1998) / Chapter Skim
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4 Weight Management
4 Weight Management
Pages 87-108
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From page 87... ...
Among those who are not overweight, a significant percentage of adult women are dieting to lose weight. Military personnel differ from the majority of civilian personnel in that while few civilian occupations are permitted by law to require employees to maintain their weight and body fat below an established maximum, military personnel, regardless of their individual occupational specialty, incur increasingly punitive administrative consequences for failing to "make weight." Because of the emphasis placed by the military on meeting standards for body weight and fat, and undoubtedly as a result of the same forces that have driven the increase in weight among civilians, the issue of weight management among military personnel has assumed considerable prominence.
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From page 88... ...
. Those who exceed body fat standards receive medical evaluation; those found to have no underlying causative disease are entered into the weight control program by the unit commander, and their personnel records are flagged (this notation carries implications for travel, education, permanent change of duty station, and promotion)
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From page 89... ...
All personnel are weighed, without notice, a minimum of every 12 months; additional weighings and body fat measures are at the discretion of the commander or supervisor. Personnel who exceed the screening table weight maximum for their height, gender, and age group or who appear to exceed body fat standards or who fail to present a "professional military appearance" undergo circumferential body fat measurement (see Air Force body fat standards in Appendix B)
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From page 90... ...
Outcome Assessment for Military Weight Management Programs None of the military nutrition or personnel professionals contacted were able to identify any research to determine the availability of nutritionally trained health care professionals, the uniformity in implementation- of weight control programs, or outcomes of these programs at military sites around the world. Data were not available on the numbers of individuals who were /
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From page 91... ...
TABLE 4-l Active-Duty Enlisted Women Separated from U.S. Military Service in Fiscal Year ~ 996 for Failure to Meet Body Fat Starboards Service Branch Total Number of Women Separated in FY1996 Separated Personnel as a Percentage of the Active-Duty Force (%)
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From page 92... ...
Program participants are weighed periodically and must demonstrate a minimum weight loss each weighing period until their goal weight or body fat is met. Additional counseling sessions, classes, and remedial physical activity programs are sometimes provided or recorrunended.
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From page 93... ...
t Defined as being overweight if BMI 2 25.7 for women under age 20 or BMI 2 27.3 for women aged 20 or older. SOURCE: Survey of Health-Related Behaviors among Military Personnel (Bray et al., 1995~.
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From page 94... ...
, compared with 37.4 percent of all men. The 1995 Sample Survey of Military Personnel, a cross-sectional survey of active-duty Army personnel, found that among 7,376 female respondents, 9 percent reported exceeding the Army's age-dependent body fat standards (30-36% body fat)
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From page 95... ...
Although the numbers of active-duty enlisted personnel sepa rated from service in fiscal year 1996 due to failure to comply with body composition standards appear in Table 4-1, these data are not indicative of the incidence of overweight in the military because, as described above, the decision to refer a soldier to the weight control program and to pursue separation is made on art individual basis. Low Body Weight Currently, the military maintains minimum weights-for-height for recruitment and retention, which for the Army correspond to a BM!
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From page 96... ...
Summary Data on the prevalence of overweight among military personnel are difficult to obtain. Central medical and personnel databases do not appear to contain information that would permit a determination of the incidence of personnel exceeding the body fat standards.
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From page 97... ...
reported that BMI, but not percent body fat, is significantly correlated with tendency to practice dietary restraint, which suggests that some anatomical factor other than fatness, per se, influences the tendency to diet. Subsequently, this group showed that among a population of normal to slightly overweight college women, frame size (as determined by several measures of skeletal structure)
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From page 98... ...
Factors associated with the onset of an eating disorder episode included body fat measurement, work stress, change of work schedule, and personal/professional motivation; rank and age were not factors (McNulty, ~ 997~. The low response rate for military surveys of dieting practices is likely to be the result of a recently rescinded policy that specified the diagnosis of an eating disorder as cause for separation from military service, according to several speakers at the 1996 workshop.
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From page 99... ...
They addressed the popular view that during energy restriction, energy is mobilized and weight loss is from both the fat and lean compartments, while weight regain is primarily fat. Their review of data from small animal and human weight cycling studies in Great Britain and Gambia found no long-term effect of weight cycling on lean body mass.
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From page 100... ...
reviewed the literature on weight cycling and found insufficient evidence to conclude that there was any adverse effect of weight cycling on body composition, energy expenditure, risk factors for cardiovascular disease, or the effectiveness of subsequent attempts to lose weight. Methods for Successful Weight Management Although a comprehensive review of the literature on methods for weight loss and management is beyond the scope of this report, several recent reports have reviewed and evaluated these methods (TOM, 1995; Levy and Heaton, 1993; NTH Technology Assessment Conference Panel' 19931.
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From page 101... ...
The definition of success that was applied took into account recent evidence suggesting that the loss of small amounts of weight can reduce the risk for some chronic diseases and that weight management-that is, long-term maintenance of weight loss rather than the weight loss itself, is the more important factor in reducing risk (USDA/DHHS, 19951. Three criteria were established by which all weight management programs can be evaluated.
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From page 102... ...
Evidence suggests that the combination of changes in diet and exercise habits with behavior modification to reinforce those changes apparently extends the interval between weight loss and regain. Attributes of successful programs include a plan that results in slow, steady weight loss; development of an eating and exercise plan that can be maintained long term; education in emotional and social stress management and problem-solving strategies; self-monitoring; and maintaining contact with a health care professional.
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From page 103... ...
Although no convincing evidence has been found to support an association between weight cycling and risk for chronic disease, immediate effects of chronic dieting on readiness cannot be dismissed (see Chapter 5~. Several national panels have examined existing civilian weight management strategies and established guidelines for successful weight loss and management programs.
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From page 104... ...
1987. Lean body mass-body fat interrelationships in humans.
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From page 105... ...
1993. Methods for voluntary weight loss and control: Technology assessment conference statement.
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From page 106... ...
"Physical Fitness and Weight Control Programs." June 29. Washington, D.C.
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From page 107... ...
1992. Relationship of dieting history to resting metabolic rate, body composition, eating behavior, and subsequent weight loss.
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