Small study suggests military changes eating habits of female veterans
September 09, 2019
Researchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have found that military service may affect the long-term eating habits of female service members. The small study showed that poor eating habits in the military carried on even after the women had transitioned back to civilian life.
The women involved with the study noted three different periods of their time in the military that had the most significant effect: boot camp, deployment and living on base.
During boot camp, the women mentioned how being timed to eat caused them to learn to eat extremely fast. They also ate large meals, which were needed to sustain the amount of physical training they were doing. However, once the women left boot camp and their activity levels were less intense, eating such large portions caused them to gain weight quickly.
When the women were deployed there was no set mealtime, which meant eating as much as they could, whenever they could, often under extremely stressful conditions. Some reported that mealtime during deployment caused much anxiety, which has continued even after returning home.
Life on a military base presented its own food issues, with the women reporting that they had few healthy choices. They were often left with whatever the mess hall was serving or fast food.
Another, more serious influence on the food habits of female veterans was the pressure to make weight and fall below maximum allowable weight limits set by the military. Study participants stressed how strong the pressure to look a certain way was, and how it is an issue that is disproportionately hurting women in the military, especially after a maternity leave.
When the new mothers returned to work after their six weeks off after their baby was born, if they were over that acceptable weight, there were serious consequences, like write ups and eventually demotions. According to the study subjects, it was a potentially career-ending situation and one that is uniquely feminine.
A larger study could shed more light on this issue and the potential harm done to the eating habits of service women and the VA researchers behind the small study hope to continue their study.