A subcommittee of the CMNR was established to review existing military policies governing body composition and fitness as well as postpartum return-to-duty standards, Military Recommended Dietary Allowances, and physical activity and nutritional practices to determine their individual and collective impact on the health, fitness, and readiness of active-duty women under a Defense Women's Health Research Program grant. In addition to several members of the parent committee, individuals with expertise in body composition assessment, physical fitness and performance, pregnancy and lactation, women's nutrition, weight management, epidemiology and survey design, and cognitive performance were included. This subcommittee was designated the Subcommittee on Body Composition, Nutrition, and Health of Military Women (BCNH committee). In addition, a group of individuals representing the body composition, fitness, and nutrition research and policy making bodies of the Army, Navy, and Air Force were invited by the sponsor to form a liaison panel to advise the BCNH committee.

Although this subcommittee operated under a separate grant, the two reports they prepared: Assessing Readiness in Military Women: The Relationship of Body Composition, Nutrition, and Health and Reducing Stress Fractures in Physically Active Military Women are included in this activity report for completeness.

Meetings have been of three types. Full committee meetings are scheduled at the request of the Army to review nutrition programs, food products, and specific research projects in various stages of development. At these meetings, oral presentations by Army personnel are augmented by written background material on one or more specific items for the Committee on Military Nutrition Research to review. The CMNR subsequently meets in executive session to discuss the materials and write a report to the Army that includes a summary of findings and recommendations. These reports are in the form of letters with attached supporting materials or brief, bound reports. Subcommittee meetings are convened by the committee chair either to plan future work, write reports, or, at the request of the Army, provide on-site review of research projects where the expertise of the entire committee membership is not required. Reports drafted by subcommittees of the CMNR are subject to the review and approval of the entire committee membership prior to completion. Workshop meetings are planned when issues have been presented to the CMNR by the Army that require broader expertise than exists within the committee, or for which the committee would like additional information or opinions. A CMNR workshop includes presentations from Army and other experts in nutrition and related