Soldiers face demanding environments and their ability to perform effectively hinges critically on maintaining adequate energy levels.
Understanding how the body responds to sustained energy deficits and shaping strategies to enhance performance is at the forefront of research conducted by the Military Nutrition Division at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Massachusetts, and the topic of the recently published article “Carbohydrate supplementation maintains physical performance during short-term energy deficit despite reductions in exogenous glucose oxidation.”
“Due to the physically demanding nature of military operations, it may not be possible for soldiers to eat enough calories to match what they burn,” said Lee Margolis, Ph.D. and Nutrition Physiologist at USARIEM. “It is our job at USARIEM to find ways to maintain soldier performance and lethality in these stressful conditions.”
When exposed to operational stress, soldiers often fail to consume enough food to match the high level of calories, or energy, they burn each day.
“This imbalance between calories burned and calories consumed leads to declines in soldiers’ physical performance. The Military Nutrition Division works to understand how the body responds to sustained energy deficits and shaping strategies to enhance performance,” he explains. “Carbohydrates are a quick and easy-to-use source of energy for muscles to fuel physical performance. Along with dietary sources of carbohydrate, such as fruits, cereals, breads, pastas, and sports drinks, the body has carbohydrate stores in muscle and liver that are used for energy during physical activity.”
For soldiers, it is a tactical energy source.
“When calories consumed are less then calories burned during military operations, soldiers’ carbohydrate stores are depleted. As carbohydrate stores decline, so does Soldier performance,” said Margolis. “If enough calories cannot be eaten during operations, when soldiers choose to eat carbohydrate may be an important factor to fuel their bodies to meet operational demands.”
In a recent study, USARIEM tested drinking a carbohydrate supplement following six days of caloric deficit to gather scientific support for building smarter rations. The primary goal of the study was to see if drinking a carbohydrate supplement during a caloric deficit could maintain soldier performance. Participating soldiers consumed a minimum (20% of total caloric need), moderate (40% of total caloric need) or severe (60% of caloric need) caloric deficit diet.
The study found that although soldiers used less energy from the carbohydrate supplement when in a caloric deficit, their performance did not drop.
“Soldiers maintained their performance whether they were eating the minimal, moderate or severe caloric deficit diet,” Margolis explained. “This is important because these findings show that even when soldiers are in a severe caloric deficit, well-timed carbohydrate supplementation before or during combat operations can maintain physical performance to support mission success.”
As military nutrition policies and ration platforms continue to evolve, findings from this and other studies performed by the Military Nutrition Division provide the scientific foundation for future feeding strategies of our modern soldiers.
Findings from this study will transition to the Combat Feeding Division at the Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, who are responsible for the development of operational rations, field feeding equipment and the field feeding systems used to prepare and serve the food that soldiers eat.
“Results from these types of studies are vital for providing the evidence-base to refine the beverage base in the Meal, Ready-to-Eat or inform the integration of small, easily digestible carbohydrate supplements into the Modular Operational Ration Enhancement platform,” said Margolis. “This work provides fundamental information for carbohydrate fueling strategies when caloric intake cannot meet the caloric demand of military training or combat operations.”
Findings showing that the timing of carbohydrate supplementation during caloric deficit maintains physical performance also have implications for Army Regulation 40-25: Nutrition and Menu Standards for Human Performance Optimization. These results can be used to update information on nutrient timing and strengthen the rationale for strategic carbohydrate fueling options to preserve soldier readiness to support mission success. These data provide the knowledge for military nutrition policy to define feeding strategies to enhance soldier performance.
“USARIEM continues to capture the impacts of operational stressors on meeting caloric needs and the ramifications this has on soldier performance. Matching the caloric demands of high operational tempo missions may not be feasible,” said Margolis. “However, understanding that well-timed carbohydrate supplementation can maintain soldier performance even during severe caloric deficits is crucial to inform the formulation of future ration platforms.”
The full article can be found at https://journals.physiology.org/doi/epdf/10.1152/ajpendo.00418.2024
USARIEM is a subordinate command of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command under the Army Futures Command. USARIEM is internationally recognized as the DOD's premier laboratory for Warfighter health and performance research and focuses on environmental medicine, physiology, physical and cognitive performance, and nutrition research. Located at the Natick Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts, USARIEM's mission is to research and deliver solutions to enhance Warfighter health, performance and lethality in all environments.
About Lee Margolis
Lee Margolis has a s Ph.D. in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition from Tufts University, gained his credentials as a Registered Dietitian as part of the inaugural class of the US Army-Baylor University Master’s Program in Nutrition, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and is currently a Nutrition Physiologist in the Military Nutrition Division at USARIEM.
Social Sharing