Journal of Nutritional Disorders & Therapy

Influence of Nutrition on Military Performance

Laura Wagner^* Department of Nutrition, University of Nevada, Nevada, United States
^*Correspondence: Laura Wagner, Department of Nutrition, University of Nevada, Nevada, United States, Email:

Received: 04-Jul-2022, Manuscript No. JNDT-22-17652; Editor assigned: 07-Jul-2022, Pre QC No. JNDT-22-17652 (PQ); Reviewed: 21-Jul-2022, QC No. JNDT-22-17652; Revised: 28-Jul-2022, Manuscript No. JNDT-22-17652 (R); Published: 04-Aug-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2161-0509.22.12.192

Description

The military and nutrition are inextricably linked. No army can expect to win in its primary function of fighting wars without a consistent supply of food and water. To guarantee that the physical capacity and mental performance of military personnel remain at optimal levels appropriate diet in terms of both quality and quantity and proper hydration are essential. When someone is hurt nutrition has a significant role in how quickly their wounds heal as well as how quickly they recover and undergo rehabilitation. Greater strength, speed and adaptability are expected of the modern soldier than ever before. Strength, agility, power and speed development are the main points of tactical training, which aims to improve physical performance. One of the five pillars of wellbeing that the Department of Defense (DOD) "deems crucial to military mission accomplishment" is nutrition, according to "Army Physical Readiness Training". Higher nutrition quality has been linked to better physical performance in military tactical training. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that better nutrition quality is linked to more psychological toughness in military recruits.

Effect of dietary intake on performance of soldier

By the turn of the 20^th century, it was well understood the military and health implications of soldiers dietary intake on active service. The soldier who is well fed is not only in better physical health and better able to resist disease, but he is more cheerful in difficulties and therefore more equal to any strain he may be called upon to endure. It was also recognized that a soldier's nutritional needs varied depending on whether he or she was in a fighting zone or a barracks. Poor physical and cognitive performance (such as the inability to complete physical tasks, poor focus and decreased vigilance) can be brought on by inadequate nutrition. An increased incidence of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and renal failure are some of the long-term repercussions of both macro and micronutrient imbalances. A poorly nourished force may have negative effects such as a higher risk of illness, lower manning numbers due to absence and ultimately a worse degree of operational readiness.

In the 1980s, the US reported inconsistent data over whether "Meals-Ready-to-Eat" (MRE) US rations caused body weight loss in an operational field situation. Male troops who took part in a 30 day field study in 1995 and were solely given MRE rations lost 3.8% of their body weight compared to soldiers who were supplied hot cook-prepared food who lost 1.2% of their body weight. According to anthropometric measures and Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA), the body weight loss was almost completely due to fat mass and was caused by a lower carbohydrate consumption, which led to a net daily energy deficit of 600 kcal.

However, it has been hypothesized that troops who consume operational rations for more than 10 days may not necessarily perform worse than those who have body weight losses of 3% to 6%. Offering snacks that may be easily consumed throughout the day can enhance physical activity during prolonged, strenuous work. Therefore, in such a case lighter more nutrientdense food products would be preferred.

Additionally, a growing body of indagation indicates that caffeine might enhance alertness and performance in a variety of physical activities while also lowering weariness. In US special forces members and US Navy SEALs who are sleep deprived, caffeine has been found to enhance running performance, sustain vigilance during a night time field mission and increase cognitive performance. Diets for immune nutrition or immunological modulation include extra nutritional components in the feed. These include frequently in conjunction with one another, selenium, glutamine, arginine, omega-3 fatty acids, branched chain amino acids, vitamins A, vitamin C and vitamin E, beta-carotene and RNA nucleotides. There have been more than 30 randomized control trials on immune nutrition in soldiers and at least seven meta-analyses have been produced. Unsurprisingly, it has been difficult to extrapolate actionable findings from a heterogeneous group receiving a varying combination of micronutrient supplements at various points of their disease process.