Precious. Army worried about weight gain, high cholesterol in troops in Iraq

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-heavy9jul09,1,6531057,full.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true

Fattening menus for troops in Iraq
Dietitians note that fried food and desserts dominate the selection at dining facilities, putting U.S. forces at risk of weight gain.
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Times Staff Writer
July 9, 2007

BAGHDAD — When Spc. Matthew Curll left basic training for Iraq nearly a year ago, he traded a bland diet of MREs for burgers, pie and Fudgsicles.

"You go from a lot of MREs and crappy stuff at the mess hall to prime rib on Sundays," said Curll, 21, of Lancaster, Mass., over a dinner of baked chicken followed by ice cream in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.

"I wasn't expecting it at all," added Spc. Joe Reen, 23, of Norwood, Mass., finishing a turkey wrap and green salad. "You wanted to try everything."

The two indulged at first, but said they learned to resist most of the fried food and extra desserts that dominate the menu at U.S. dining facilities in Iraq. Others are not so careful, they said, including a few officers ahead of them in the chow line.

"There were three colonels in front of me who got double scoops and extra toppings," Reen said.

The Army has loaded the menu at the 70 chow halls, run by contractor KBR, with a buffet of fattening fare, from cheese steaks to tacos and Rocky Road ice cream. Many soldiers gain more than 15 pounds on a deployment, military dietitians say. They are also seeing soldiers return from Iraq with higher cholesterol, mostly due to their eating habits.

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must have been a slow news day...

I guess it's either feast or famine.

The DFACs also have fried cheese sticks, jalapeno poppers, made to order omlets, and Breyer's ice cream. Many people get really fat over here from the food; it's not nutritious at all.

Private armies and corp. service for the men. I am not sure this is a good deal for them or the tax payers but it sure is good for stock holders and Wall Street. Sell off some more service to a big corp. and we will see when the straw that brakes every ones back gets here.

My husband came back 40 pounds + lighter.

interesting.

convoys are being attacked. There might be forced weight loss in the near future:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1280538&mesg_id=1280538

lack of supply lines and a lack of supplies

toward the end they lucked into an area that had a chow hall...KBR..and get this...he caught a "3rd world" bug which took off more weight.

I've got a picture of him on the day he arrived in Iraq and one 9 months later...I still cry when I look at those pictures. Not just because of the weight loss either.

I can say that my DH, who is not a wise eater, came home from Iraq much much thinner than he left.

I'd want ice cream and a few tacos if I thought there was a possibility I might never eat again.

:shrug:

I`m just not buying this "story" at all.

intake. If it's a problem maybe they could reduce their weight by having a limb or two amputated so the army won't have to worry so much. They seem perfectly satisfied when it happens in the field.

.... we're exporting America's eating habits as well. .....The poor Iraqis can't catch a break.

We were sitting around in the desert for months afterwards. The food wasnt all that great, MRE's at least once a day, and those things have a couple thousand calories, with LOTS of fat and sodium.
Lots of soldiers gained weight back then, too, so Im not surprized at this. Look at what soldiers over there do now, theres not much opportunity for exercise. Patrols are mostly in vehicles, and when you dont patrol, you're stuck in the green zone or whatever base you're at.