﻿594 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  breakfast 
  package 
  furnishes 
  enriched 
  biscuits, 
  compressed 
  graham 
  

   crackers, 
  veal, 
  a 
  fruit 
  bar, 
  malted 
  milk 
  dextrose 
  tablets, 
  soluble 
  coffee, 
  

   sugar, 
  chewing 
  gum, 
  and 
  four 
  cigarettes. 
  The 
  contents 
  of 
  the 
  dinner 
  

   package 
  are 
  much 
  the 
  same 
  with 
  the 
  addition 
  of 
  powdered 
  bouillon 
  

   but 
  without 
  coffee 
  or 
  fruit 
  bar. 
  For 
  supper 
  the 
  allowance 
  is 
  biscuits, 
  

   cheese, 
  chocolate 
  bar, 
  fruit-juice 
  powder, 
  sugar, 
  chewing 
  gum, 
  and 
  

   cigarettes. 
  Gum 
  is 
  included 
  because 
  its 
  chewing 
  promotes 
  the 
  flow 
  

   of 
  saliva, 
  thus 
  keeping 
  the 
  lining 
  of 
  the 
  mouth 
  moist, 
  and 
  this 
  seems 
  

   to 
  reduce 
  the 
  consumption 
  of 
  water. 
  In 
  field 
  trials 
  of 
  the 
  rations, 
  

   cigarettes 
  were 
  found 
  to 
  have 
  value 
  in 
  promoting 
  morale. 
  

  

  People 
  frequently 
  ask 
  the 
  professional 
  nutritionist 
  whether 
  armed 
  

   forces 
  fighting 
  in 
  various 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  have 
  different 
  food 
  re- 
  

   quirements 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  climate 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  find 
  themselves, 
  or 
  

   to 
  other 
  factors 
  peculiar 
  to 
  their 
  respective 
  regions. 
  Must 
  the 
  soldier 
  

   in 
  Iceland 
  be 
  fed 
  differently 
  from 
  his 
  comrade 
  in 
  Morocco 
  ? 
  

  

  The 
  observation 
  that 
  marked 
  differences 
  in 
  food 
  habits 
  characterize 
  

   the 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  different 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  globe 
  may 
  suggest 
  to 
  some 
  

   laymen 
  that 
  the 
  nutritive 
  needs 
  of 
  these 
  widely 
  distributed 
  people 
  are 
  

   correspondingly 
  different, 
  and, 
  therefore, 
  in 
  the 
  feeding 
  of 
  our 
  armed 
  

   forces, 
  differences 
  in 
  requirements 
  seemingly 
  related 
  to 
  regions 
  should 
  

   be 
  considered. 
  Students 
  of 
  nutrition 
  agree 
  that 
  such 
  an 
  interpreta- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  of 
  variety 
  in 
  food 
  habits 
  is 
  erroneous. 
  The 
  kinds 
  of 
  

   foods 
  eaten 
  by 
  any 
  group 
  of 
  people 
  constitute 
  a 
  reflection 
  of 
  economic 
  

   factors, 
  such 
  as 
  availability 
  and 
  relative 
  cost, 
  and 
  socioreligious 
  fac- 
  

   tors 
  involving 
  established 
  customs, 
  taboos, 
  religious 
  training, 
  and 
  the 
  

   like. 
  Naturally, 
  foods 
  that 
  are 
  readily 
  produced 
  in 
  a 
  given 
  area 
  will 
  

   predominate 
  in 
  the 
  dietaries 
  of 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  those 
  areas 
  over 
  

   foods 
  that 
  must 
  be 
  imported. 
  

  

  If 
  differences 
  in 
  food 
  habits 
  do 
  not 
  mean 
  differences 
  in 
  fundamental 
  

   nutritive 
  requirements 
  of 
  different 
  places, 
  it 
  follows 
  that 
  a 
  basic 
  

   ration, 
  with 
  perhaps 
  minor 
  modifications, 
  could 
  serve 
  for 
  all 
  troops 
  

   regardless 
  of 
  where 
  they 
  are. 
  All 
  soldiers 
  will 
  need 
  enough 
  calories 
  

   to 
  meet 
  the 
  energy 
  costs 
  of 
  their 
  respective 
  activities. 
  The 
  soldier 
  

   in 
  Iceland 
  will 
  have 
  to 
  face 
  the 
  problem 
  of 
  greater 
  heat 
  loss 
  to 
  the 
  en- 
  

   vironment 
  and 
  will 
  solve 
  this 
  very 
  largely 
  through 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  warmer 
  

   clothing 
  and 
  heated 
  quarters. 
  The 
  soldier 
  in 
  Libya 
  will 
  dress 
  so 
  as 
  

   to 
  facilitate 
  loss 
  of 
  body 
  heat 
  to 
  environment. 
  It 
  is 
  quite 
  possible 
  

   that 
  the 
  soldier 
  in 
  Iceland 
  will 
  eat 
  a 
  few 
  more 
  calories 
  daily 
  than 
  his 
  

   comrade 
  in 
  Libya 
  depending 
  upon 
  the 
  severity 
  of 
  the 
  cold 
  weather 
  

   and 
  the 
  care 
  taken 
  to 
  conserve 
  heat 
  through 
  proper 
  clothing. 
  

  

  The 
  soldier 
  in 
  Libya, 
  and 
  particularly 
  his 
  comrades 
  in 
  the 
  humid 
  

   Tropics, 
  will 
  have 
  another 
  problem 
  to 
  face: 
  that 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  greater 
  

   sweating 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  warmer 
  climates. 
  It 
  is 
  known 
  that 
  workmen 
  

   in 
  steel 
  mills 
  and 
  other 
  industrial 
  plants 
  whose 
  activities 
  result 
  in 
  

  

  