Energy Expenditure and Nutritional Status of Sailors and Submarine Crew of the Indian Navy

Nutritional requirements of sailors and submariners are different from those of ground forces as they work under confined environment as well as due to logistic constraints of cooking and storage of food. Study was conducted for a period of three months at Eastern Naval Command to evaluate nutrient requirements, nutritional status of Indian Navy personnel and adequacy of the existing ration scales. The study volunteers were from crew of two warships (n = 35) and submariners (n = 20) who were attached to their mother ships during time of data collection and offshore during rest of the period. Energy expenditure, nutrient intake, level of nutrients in body, and urinary excretion were measured along with changes in body composition. All variables were analysed before and after three months of nutritional monitoring. Energy expenditure at ship was in the range of 2449-4907 kcal/day with a mean of 3313 + 578 kcal/day, while in the case of submariners, it was 3168 + 282 (2606-3907) kcal/day. The energy intake in the case of sailors and submariners was not different either on shore establishment or at ship. Energy intake was found to be 3518 + 286 kcal/day. The energy contribution from carbohydrates, fats, and protein was 59.9 per cent, 27.8 per cent and 12.3 per cent, respectively. No sign and symptoms of any nutritional deficiency were observed either initially or after three months. Status of micronutrients present in their blood and in their urinary excretions along with body composition were maintained, indicating adequacy of existing ration scales of Indian Navy. Defence Science Journal, 2011, 61(6), pp.540-544 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.61.930