IF an army marches on its stomach, the 25,000 US and Australian troops taking part in war games in Queensland this weekend should be just about able to walk home, The Sunday Mail The soldiers who are on assignment north of Rockhampton are served a diet flooded with fat, sugar, salt and carbohydrates, but ironically skinny on fruit and vegetables.Breakfast consists of bacon, eggs, french toast, pancakes, pasta, mushrooms, tomato, cereal, porridge, Milo or hot chocolate.
Lunch is burgers, tacos, chicken parmigiana and an Asian stir fry, while dinner is beef stroganoff or chicken in black bean sauce, followed by bread and butter pudding, chocolate mousse or cake.
And that's just for designated meal times - the soldiers are also provided with treats such as cream buns to snack on.
A cream bun can be up to 500 calories, which would take 10 hours to walk off.
The Sunday Mail earlier this year exposed how one in seven Australian soldiers was classified as obese.
The Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, has confirmed to a Senate estimates hearing he was concerned about obesity in the armed forces.
"The fitness of our people is vitally important to me and to the service chiefs," Air Chief Marshal Houston said.
US Marine Corps captain Binford Strickland said some of the bigger guys regularly lined up for seconds at breakfast.
The Catering Corps also cooked fatty dinners such as Southern fried chicken and Sloppy Joes - an American dish of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce and seasonings, served on a hamburger bun.
Some cold meats and salads were available if the troops wanted to eat something healthier.
"They get one treat a day," Catering Corps Warrant Officer Brad Coleman said.
"We do have a lot of Milo or hot chocolate. We try to maintain nutritious standards. There aren't a lot of deep fried foods."
Dietitian Julie Gilbert said the diet was no good for "anyone's long term health".
"While these guys might be getting plenty of exercise to burn it off, it is not a nutritious diet because it lacks fruit and vegetables - they are filling up on high fat, proteins and carbohydrates," she said.
Ms Gilbert said the soldiers would suffer serious sugar withdrawals on the diet.
"They might be buzzing for a while, but when the effects wear off they would suffer from headaches, lapses in concentration, feel tired and need to sleep," she said.
While the soldiers' health may be suffering, the local economy is reaping the benefits of the bi-annual Talisman Sabre operation.
Who really cares anyway about those people.
OBVIOUSLY NOT the government.
Nutrition in this day and age is well known to the educated, and even the general populous.
Why should the government worry about their health and longevity if they are considered to be
CANON FODDER,
they may as well be an easy target for the canons.
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