Drawing on the presentations at the workshop, background materials provided, and the expertise of the subcommittee, staff and National Academy of Sciences librarians searched the bibliographic databases Medline, Psychlit, Sport, National Technical Information Service (NTIS), and Defense Research On-line System (DROLS)/Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Work Unit and Technical Report (see Appendix D) for the years 1991–1996, inclusive. (The 1995 IOM report, Recommendations for Research on the Health of Military Women, and the 1992 IOM report, Body Composition and Physical Performance, which contained extensive bibliographies of earlier reference materials, were also used.) The goal of the searches was to capture both civilian and military research relevant to the main issues. The strategy used for the literature searches is described in Appendix D. Additional references and information were provided by searches of the General Accounting Office database and the World Wide Web, as well as by consultation with the military liaison panel; with individuals at the Pentagon, San Diego Naval Health Research Center, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, and U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command; and with attendees at a symposium on Women in Uniform sponsored by the Women's Research and Education Institute. Finally, a sample of municipal firefighting and police services, as well as the U.S. Park Service and Forestry Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency, and the U.S. Marshals were contacted (see Appendix E) to obtain information on their body composition, fitness, and performance testing, as well as pregnancy policies.

The multiple strategies used to gather reference material provided the committee with a wide array of information upon which to draw in formulating its conclusions. In selecting research reports for review, every attempt was made to include only those that demonstrated use of the highest quality study design. However, because of the limited availability of published research in a number of areas, particularly research of relevance to the military, a decision was made to include all available reports in such areas and to discuss the limitations of the work, where appropriate.

AR (Army Regulation) 600-9. 1986. See U.S. Department of the Army, 1986.

Bray, R.M., L.A. Kroutil, S.C. Wheeless, M.E. Marsden, S.L. Bailey, J.A. Fairbank, and T.C. Harford. 1995. Health behavior and health promotion. Department of Defense Survey of Health-Related Behaviors among Military Personnel. Report No. RTI/6019/06-FR. Research Triangle Park, N.C.: Research Triangle Institute.

DoD (Department of Defense) Directive 1308.1. 1995. See U.S. Department of Defense, 1995.

DoD (Department of Defense) Instruction 1308.3. 1995. See U.S. Department of Defense, 1995.

FM (Field Manual) 100-5. 1993. See U.S. Department of the Army, 1993.

Hodgdon, J.A., P.I. Fitzgerald, and J.A. Vogel. 1990. Relationships between body fat and appearance ratings of U.S. soldiers. Report No. 90-01. San Diego, Calif.: Naval Health Research Center.

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 1992. Body Composition and Physical Performance, Applications for the Military Services, B.M. Marriott and J. Grumstrup-Scott, eds. Committee on Military Nutrition Research, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 1995. Recommendations for Research on the Health of Military Women. Committee on Defense Women's Health Research. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

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)