cited for using undesirable weight loss practices (such as use of diuretics, laxatives, purging, or saunas) was upcoming weight-in. Since so few overweight women (and probably men) are actually placed on the weight control program, dietary counseling and nutrition education should be readily available to all soldiers without risk of stigma.

King, N. J.E. Arsenault, S.H. Mutter, C. Champagne, T.C. Murphy, K.A. Westphal, E.W. Askew. 1994. Nutritional intake of female soldiers during the U.S. Army basic combat training. Technical Report No. 94-17. Natick, Mass.: U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.

Klicka, M.V., D.E. Sherman, N. King, K.E. Friedl, and E.W. Askew. 1993. Nutritional assessment of U.S. Military Academy cadets at West Point: Part 2. Assessment of nutritional intake. Technical Report No. T94-1. Natick, Mass.: U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.

Rose, M.S., R. Moore, R. Mahnke, E. Christensen, and E.W. Askew. 1993. Weight reduction techniques adopted when weight standards are enforced. Technical Report No. T4-93. Natick, Mass.: U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.

Edward Hirsch, Ph.D., and Dianne Engell, Ph.D., Behavioral Sciences Division, U.S. Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center, Natick, MA 01760

Operational rations have been developed to satisfy the food preferences of male troops. They have been modified based on feedback from male personnel in focus groups and extensive field tests where detailed measures of nutrient intake, fluid balance, body weight, food acceptance, and troop perceptions of ration attributes are used both to evaluate the adequacy of the ration and to make improvements in future versions. This approach to ration development and design was fully justified when women comprised a small fraction of servicemembers and were rarely on the front lines where troops frequently subsist on operational rations as their sole source of food. This situation has changed dramatically as women have come to represent a larger fraction of servicemembers with over 203,000 in active-duty status as of 1993. The question, of course, arises as to whether current military rations satisfy the food preferences of female servicemembers and whether the rations are consumed in adequate quantity to meet women's nutritional needs.

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)