UNCLASSIFIED Update on Nutritionally Optimized First Strike Ration (NOFSR) Army Technology Objective (ATO) D.SO October 2008 Betty Davis Team Leader, Performance Enhancement & Food Safety DoD Combat Feeding Directorate US Army Natick RD&E Center

UNCLASSIFIED Background & Purpose Background: –The FSR™ is a compact, eat-on-the-move ration designed to be consumed during short-term high-intensity missions –The FSR™ substantially reduces the size and weight burden to the Warfighter with features designed to enhance consumption, nutritional intake, and mobility –Components of the FSR™ include food items that are lightweight, easy to consume, and require little or no preparation –Snacking and caffeine have individually been shown to improve physical and cognitive performance Purpose: –To determine if NOFSR better sustained ability to make correct decisions (cognitive performance) and perform physical work during repeated days of physically-demanding, near-continuous military field operations

UNCLASSIFIED Nutritionally Optimized First Strike Ration - Menus MRE™ - XXII x 2NOFSR Menu 1NOFSR Menu 2 Weight = 1044 g Weight = 947 g Weight = 1063 g Kcals = 2588 Kcals = 3178 Kcals = 3271 CHO = 346 g CHO = 521 g CHO = 500 g PRO = 84 g PRO = 88 g PRO = 89 g Caffeine = 200 mgCaffeine = 620 mgCaffeine = 626 mg kcal g mg Source Material Room for Nutritious Food Packaging, Component Selection 2 menus that meet nutrition objectives

UNCLASSIFIED Experimental Design Subjects: n= 50 Marines (46 men, 4 women) 4-day dismounted FTX ½ platoon provided FSR™ (n=26); ½ platoon provided MRE™ (n = 24) Food consumption calculated from food logs and food waste Activity measured by wrist-worn actigraph Reaction time, logical reasoning ability, and mood measured with PDA-based tests on day 1, 3, 4 and 5 of FTX

UNCLASSIFIED Marines at Quantico Marines participating in PDA and saliva tests

UNCLASSIFIED Energy Intake Mean ± sd First Strike Ration™ Group Ate More

UNCLASSIFIED Reaction Time Mean ± se Reaction time performance declined during FTX (= expected) Trend for FSR™ to better sustain performance

UNCLASSIFIED 24 hr Physical Activity No difference in activity between diet groups Mean ± sd

UNCLASSIFIED Mood state worsened during FTX (= expected) Trend for FSR™ to better sustain mood Mood Mean ± se

UNCLASSIFIED Summary NOFSR ATO 1 st Study Data supports greater food consumption with FSR™ compared to MRE™ There are trends supporting that FSR™ items better sustains mood and alertness compared to MRE™ however, additional testing will be needed to confirm these observations Additional study(s) to be conducted: –To increase “n” performed in May to quantify trends –To further test the effect of NOFSR on physical performance –Target Marine Corps Basic Officer Training School for first study and unit TBD for second (if it occurs)

UNCLASSIFIED Subjects: n= 39 Marines (36 men, 3 women) 4-day dismounted FTX ½ platoon provided FSR™ (n=20); ½ platoon provided MRE™ (n = 19) Food consumption calculated from food logs and food waste Activity measured by wrist-worn actigraph Reaction time, logical reasoning ability, and mood measured with PDA-based tests on day 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of FTX Experimental Design (2 nd Study)

UNCLASSIFIED NOFSR ATO 2 nd Study Orientation and food distribution Testing being conducted

UNCLASSIFIED NOFSR ATO 2nd Study Marines during FTX

UNCLASSIFIED NOFSR and MRE™ components not consumed during 1 day Marines taking PDA test on last day PDA based cognitive testing was performed Implications of not eating enough was discussed during the last day NOFSR ATO 2nd Study MRE™ NOFSR

UNCLASSIFIED Summary Both NOFSR field tests were conducted at Quantico, VA during the Marine Corps Basic Officer Training School Data still supports greater food consumption with FSR™ compared to MRE™ –Marines consumed approximately 300 additional calories when consuming the NOFSR Overall Marines were not eating enough –Lack of time –Didn’t really equate food to performance Preliminary data from 2 nd study supports trends suggesting that FSR™ items better sustain mood and alertness Spiral development insertions to provide the best for our Warfighter in the field