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Committee on Military Nutrition Research: Activity Report 1992-1994 (1994)

Chapter: Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments

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Suggested Citation:"Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments." Institute of Medicine. 1994. Committee on Military Nutrition Research: Activity Report 1992-1994. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9169.
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Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments

The Committee on Military Nutrition Research (CMNR) was asked by the Division of Military Nutrition, U.S. Army Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM), to review current research pertaining to nutrient requirements for working in cold and high altitude environments and to comment on how this information may be applied to military nutrient standards and military rations. The Committee was thus tasked with providing a thorough review of the literature in this area and interpreting these diverse data in terms of military applications. In addition to a focus on specific nutrient needs in cold environments, the Committee was asked to include consideration of factors that might change food intake patterns and therefore overall energy intake. The Army has conducted extensive research in this area and the CMNR has previously discussed both specific ration items (Ration, Cold Weather [RCW]) and Alaska -based cold weather experimental studies that compared soldier intake and performance between several versions of the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) and the RCW (Marriott, and Earl, 1992). This project also parallelled and earlier CMNR study of the nutrient requirements for hot environments (Marriott, 1993; see page XX and Appendix G).

The principal questions that the CMNR was asked to address were:

  1. Aside from increased energy demands, do cold or high altitude environments elicit an increased demand or requirement for specific nutrients?

Suggested Citation:"Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments." Institute of Medicine. 1994. Committee on Military Nutrition Research: Activity Report 1992-1994. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9169.
×
  1. Can performance be enhanced in cold or high altitude environments by the provision of increased amounts of specific nutrients?

To assist the CMNR in developing a response to these questions, a workshop was convened on January 31-February 2, 1994 in Washington, D.C., that included presentations from individuals familiar with or having expertise in digestive physiology, energetics, macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, appetite, psychology, exercise physiology, and high altitude physiology. The titles of the presented papers are listed below:

  • Scenarios of Cold Exposure in Military Settings

    William D. Strauss

    COL Russell W. Schumacher, Jr.

  • How the Army Feeds Soldiers in the Cold

    LTC Nancy King

    CW4 Thomas J. Lange

  • The Physiology of Cold Exposure

    Andrew J. Young

  • Central Nervous System Function, Sleep, and Cold Stress

    Robert S. Pozos

  • The Influence of Cold Exposure on Body Fluid Balance

    Major Beau Freund

  • Muscle Metabolism and Shivering During Cold Stress

    Ira Jacobs

  • Macronutrient Requirements for Work in Cold Environments

    Peter J.H. Jones

  • Cold Exposure, Appetite, and Energy Balance

    Jacques LeBlanc

  • Influence of Cold and Altitude on Vitamin and Mineral Requirements

    Robert D. Reynolds

  • Micronutrient Deficiency States and Thermoregulation in the Cold

    John L. Beard

  • Drug-Induced Delay of Hypothermia

    Andre Vallerand

  • Food and Ice

    Robert E. Feeney

  • The Physiology of High Altitude Exposure

    Allen Cymerman

  • The Effects of High Altitude on Physical Performance and Well-Being

    Robert B. Schoene

  • Fluid Metabolism at High Altitude

    Inder S. Anand

Suggested Citation:"Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments." Institute of Medicine. 1994. Committee on Military Nutrition Research: Activity Report 1992-1994. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9169.
×
  • Effects of High Altitude on Basal Energy Requirement, Body Composition Maintenance and Fuel Source When Energy Intake is Adequate

    Gail E. Butterfield

  • Energy and Macronutrient Requirements for Work at High Altitude

    Reed W. Hoyt

  • Vitamin E and Antioxidants

    Irene Simon-Schnass

  • Effects of Altitude on Cognitive Performance and Mood States

    Barbara Shukitt-Hale

  • Environmental Stress Management by Adaptogens

    Kaushal Kishore Srivastava

  • Food Components and other Treatments that may Enhance Mental Performance at High Altitude and in the Cold

    Harris Lieberman

A panel discussion was held at the end of the workshop to summarize the findings and discuss specific issues raised during the two-day workshop. The six invited panelists, Robert B. Schoene, Robert S. Pozos, Murray Hamlet, Bill Strauss, Irwin Taub, and COL Russell Schumacher, had either contributed presentations to the workshop or brought additional expertise in food development, cold physiology, high altitude research, and military operations at high altitude.

The invited speakers discussed their presentations with the Committee members at the workshop and submitted the content of their verbal presentations as written reports. The committee met in executive session after the workshop to discuss the issues raised and the information provided. The members of the committee will draw upon their expertise and the scientific literature to develop a summary, conclusions, and recommendations based on this workshop. The CMNR is currently in the process of completing this report for submission to the U.S. Army Medical Research, Development, Acquisition, and Logistics Command (Provisional) [USAMRDALC (PROV)]. The completed report will also include the written papers by invited speakers and will be submitted in early spring, 1995 in the CMNR workshop report series format.

Suggested Citation:"Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments." Institute of Medicine. 1994. Committee on Military Nutrition Research: Activity Report 1992-1994. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9169.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments." Institute of Medicine. 1994. Committee on Military Nutrition Research: Activity Report 1992-1994. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9169.
×
Page 45
Suggested Citation:"Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments." Institute of Medicine. 1994. Committee on Military Nutrition Research: Activity Report 1992-1994. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9169.
×
Page 46
Suggested Citation:"Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments." Institute of Medicine. 1994. Committee on Military Nutrition Research: Activity Report 1992-1994. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9169.
×
Page 47
Suggested Citation:"Nutritional Requirements for Work in Cold and High Altitude Environments." Institute of Medicine. 1994. Committee on Military Nutrition Research: Activity Report 1992-1994. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9169.
×
Page 48
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