This monograph is a critical review of data obtained on the feeding of United States and Canadian troops subjected to different environmental conditions. These conditions ranged from artic, subartic, temperate, mountain, desert and tropical to subtropical environments.
The authors state that caloric and fluid balance deficiences impaired operational efficiency more rapidly than vitamin deficiences, and they stress the need for an attractive assortment of palatable foods in the rations as being essential to troop morale and efficiency. For example, in one case 60 per cent of the available dehydrated meat and 21 per cent of the available biscuits were returned uneaten, and troop morale and efficiency declined visibly. In general, troop morale and efficiency was highest when the preferred foods, such as meat, dairy products, fruit juices and vegetables, were given in the variety commonly eaten by North American civilians.
In all climates the relative proportions of protein, fat, carbohydrates