The nutritional condition of the spanish soldier: “spain. nutrition survey of the armed forces, a report by the interdepartmental committee on nutrition for national defence 1958”

Abstract

The study of the nutritional transition in Spain must combine sources concerning the health conditions and the nutritional profile of the population. Such an approximation to the issue is, as a rule, not possible until the two final decades of the 20th century. However, the report on the nutritional status of the Spanish army, undertaken by the American Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defence (ICNND) in 1958, combines both approaches. The report is based on the medical examination of 10727 army drafts. First, the article contextualised the report’s sample geographically and demographically; second, it validated the variables used statistically; and third, it explored the relationship between the diseases diagnosed, the biomarkers yielded by blood and urine tests, and the diet. The main results were as follows: (a) the report confirmed that the military population under examination did not suffer from severe dietary shortcomings; (b) the sample presents a double bias, geographical (overrepresentation of southern provinces) and institutional (underrepresentation of the land forces).