Laurel L. Hourani, Ph.D., and Linda K. Trent, M.A., Division of Health Sciences, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA 92186-5122

This overview will draw from three large survey studies of active-duty Navy men and women conducted over the last 12 years. The first, a mailed survey of nutrition knowledge and practices, found that women had better diets and higher nutrition knowledge scores than did men. Knowledge scores were positively associated with healthful dietary choices. Caucasian women reported significantly better diets and higher knowledge scores than did non-Caucasians. While 9 percent of the women exceeded the Navy's percent body fat standard (cutpoint = 30% fat for women), 47 percent of the sample perceived themselves as being overweight, and 60 percent were attempting to lose weight. More non-Caucasians exceeded the body fat standard, yet there was no difference in the percentage of Causcasian and non-Caucasian women who felt that they were overweight. Among those trying to lose weight, Caucasians relied equally on calorie reduction and increased physical activity, whereas non-Caucasians were more likely to diet rather than exercise to lose weight. Feelings of helplessness with regard to eating behavior (e.g., "I have no willpower") were associated with poorer dietary choices. There were no significant differences between the within-standards and out-of-standards groups on nutrition knowledge, overeating, helplessness, or diet scores, though the small sample of overweight women (N = 23) might have precluded attaining statistical significance in analyses.

The second study, currently in progress, involves the longitudinal follow-up of several earlier Navy-wide samples, originally surveyed between 1983 and 1989, then contacted again in 1994 if the member was still on active duty. Results for a cohort of 97 women tracked over 10 years revealed that, although there was an increase in mean percent body fat and in the percentage of women exceeding standards, the women's aerobic and muscular fitness had also increased significantly, as measured by age- and sex-adjusted PRT scores for runs and sit-ups. In general, however, a significant negative relationship was observed between percent body fat and PRT performance. Although some researchers have found lean body mass to be a more promising index of military performance than percent body fat, lean body mass was not related to any of the PRT elements in this sample. An overview of the health habits of these women revealed 31 percent smokers and an average weekly intake of 3 to 4 alcoholic drinks. The women were physically active (approximately 1,300 calories expended per week in exercise), and 33 percent received overall PRT rating of excellent or outstanding. Dietary choices favored fruits, vegetables, and grains over meat and dairy products, and healthful food choices over poorer ones. Yet analyses failed to show a relationship between the overall diet score and physical fitness, body composition, medical visits, or self-perceived health.

A third large study, POWR'95, surveyed a representative sample of over 10,000 Navy and Marine Corps men and women. In addition to self-reported dietary behaviors and values, a clinically-based telephone interview of 784 active-duty personnel provided DSM-III, diagnoses of eating disorders. Preliminary analyses showed that both Navy and Marine Corps women had higher scores than men on many positive dietary behaviors such as eating breakfast, taking vitamins, and eating healthier foods; however, they also considered themselves overweight, wanted to lose weight, had tried to lose weight in the past year, had changed their eating patterns

Front Matter (R1-R16)

Executive Summary (1-24)

1 Introduction (25-32)

2 Body Composition (33-60)

3 Physical Fitness Policies and Programs (61-86)

4 Weight Management (87-108)

5 Nutritional Concerns of Military Women (109-126)

6 Pregnancy and Lactation and Postpartum Return-To-Duty Fitness (127-156)

7 Conclusions and Recommendations (157-170)

Appendixes (171-172)

A Workshop Summary, Agenda, Participants, and Abstracts (173-252)

B Practices and Policies Tables (253-262)

C Military Occupational Specialty Classification Tables (263-280)

D Search Strategy for Literature Review (281-284)

E Civilian Inquiry Letter and Table of Responses (285-290)

F Abbreviations (291-294)

G Bibliography (295-334)

H Biographical Sketches (335-338)

Index (339-352)