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American Forces Roll on Top of Iraqi Troops
The Atkins Diet Would Aid the Enemy

As America prepares for war with Iraq, have our generals considered all of the assets of our fighting men?  We must be developing plans to take advantage of the fact that 53.9% of our US military personnel over the age of 20 are overweight.¹  Billions of dollars of taxpayer money has been spent fattening these men and women up for the battle.  The size differential should be exploited to our advantage.  Here are some possibilities:

• We could train more paratroopers and drop these overstuffed solders out of airplanes right on top of the enemy.
   
• We could fight the war like a football game and put up a front line of oversized troops.  Since running with all that fat will be out of the question, our front line would simply stand proud and act as a barricade.
   
• In the unlikely event food shortages become a factor in this war, we can simply starve out the enemy.  Our troops will be the last ones standing.  Good thinking from the folks in charge.

These strategies will only be effective during the first few weeks of the war, however, because they�ll shoot the fat ones first (they make bigger targets).  Maybe this is how our military leaders plan to trim down our troops.

Since this is hardly a laughing matter, I will refrain from making suggestions like the leftover uniforms could be used as tents or umbrellas for sun protection.  Someone must take this matter seriously, before it is too late.

The Atkins Diet Would Incapacitate Our Troops:

Even though it is the most popular weight loss program in America, don�t even think about using an Atkins-type diet to help our troops lose weight � we would lose every battle for sure with this kind of dietary foolishness.

Consider the experience of the Canadian Army during World War II following a diet of dehydrated beef and added suet called pemmican � as an emergency ration for the infantry troops.^2,3  In the Canadian study of this experience, the pemmican derived 70% of its calories from fat and 30% from protein � the ration was essentially carbohydrate free.

The performance of the troops eating pemmican and tea as the sole source of food deteriorated so rapidly that they were incapacitated in three days.  The men complained of nausea and several vomited.  On the morning of the fourth day of the diet, doctors� examinations found them to be listless, dehydrated with drawn faces and sunken eyes, and their breath smelled of acetone (ketosis).  Because of the anorexia and water loss, the men lost weight rapidly.  When carbohydrate was added they were again able to perform.

Our Troops Need a Middle Eastern Diet (or better):

A high carbohydrate, low-fat diet (like the McDougall diet) will turn our troops around in a matter of months.  With their present exercise routines I would estimate that a 15 to 20 pound average monthly weight (fat) loss could be expected, with unlimited quantities of foods provided to our fighting forces.

Every endurance athlete knows that the best source of energy for optimal performance is carbohydrate, and that is why the winners all �carbohydrate load� before the big race.⁴  So in addition to weight loss, the physical performance and endurance of our fighting men and women would be profoundly enhanced almost overnight.  The kinds of foods I would feed our military personnel would save the taxpayers money, too.  Potatoes, pasta, rice, beans, corn, and bread are a lot cheaper than the high-fat meat and dairy dishes they are now eating.

One obstacle is the fast food chains, like McDonald�s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, which are firmly entrenched on our military bases � these have to go.  They could be replaced with some healthy Mexican Taquerias and properly-oriented Italian, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese restaurants.  Since the diet of the common person in the Middle East is about 77% of the calories as carbohydrate � based on chickpeas, pita bread, potatoes, rice and vegetables (with a little lamb and yogurt) � maybe we can also have a few Middle Eastern Delis set up on our military bases to get our troops prepared for the local culture and cuisine.^5,6

Unfortunately, what our military leaders are doing now is making excuses and changing the standards that classify our troops as overweight � so more are acceptable and can stay in the military.¹  Instead, they must take this potentially fatal fitness failure very seriously � to do otherwise is to compromise our fighting men and women, putting their lives at increased risk; and placing the futures of every American and all the people of the free world in jeopardy.

References:

1)  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-484127,00.html

2)  Kark RM. Defects of pemmican as an emergency ration for infantry troops. War Medicine 7:345-352, 1945.

3)  Statement of the American Medical Association Council on Foods and Nutrition.  A critique of low-carbohydrate ketogenic weight reduction regimens.  A review of Dr. Atkins� Diet Revolution.  JAMA. 1973 Jun 4;224(10):1415-9.

4)  Burke LM.  Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 1999 Nov;2(6):515-20.

5)  Hallak MH.  Body weight loss and changes in blood lipid levels in normal men on hypocaloric diets during Ramadan fasting.  Am J Clin Nutr 1988; 48, 1197-1210.

6)  Nomani MZ.  Changes in blood urea and glucose and their association with energy- containing nutrients in men on hypocaloric diets during Ramadan fasting.  Am J Clin Nutr 1989; 49, 1141-1145

©2002 John McDougall All Rights Reserved