The U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) is a U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command laboratory based at Natick, Massachusetts, also the home of the Soldier Systems Center. USARIEM’s Military Nutrition Division has developed the Performance Readiness Bar, fortified with calcium and vitamin D, to promote muscle growth and create stronger bones in order to prevent injuries for personnel in training environments.
US Army photo by Mallory Roussel
According to Army research physiologist Dr. Erin Gaffney-Stomberg they have been working on the bar for sbout six years. She characterized their initial research, “The results of the first randomized, controlled trial were that those who consumed a bar containing calcium and vitamin D daily throughout basic training experienced greater increases in bone density compared to those who got the placebo.”
Then they worked with Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center’s Combat Feeding Directorate to make a bar that Soldiers could eat while in a rigorous training environment. So far, the PRB has been rolled out to four basic training sites and is offered as a fourth meal, somewhere between dinner and bedtime.
Data is being collected and analyzed from 4,000 recruits who consume the PRB in order to determine exactly how such a supplement affects their performance during Basic Combat Training and into the first four years of their service.
Interestingly enough, the PRB replaces an under utilized commercial protien bar offered on Dining Facilities. The Air Force is also conducting a similar study, with Special Warfare candidates offered nutritional supplements.
