U.S. military's pill would replace food, burn fat

[Indus]

U.S. military's pill would replace food, burn fat

U.S. military researchers are working on a powerful new weapon that could soon fall into civilian hands: a drug that would allow people to go safely without food for nearly a week at a time.

The metabolic dominance program's vision is to help those fighting a war to operate at "superior" levels of physical and mental performance for three to five days, 24 hours a day, "without the need for calories."

DARPA, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, has given scientists until the end of March to submit proposals for new ways to make food dispensable. The most ambitious goal for this "operational dominance" is to artificially manipulate the human body's metabolism and find ways to better access energy-rich fat stores.

In other words, a potential pill that would burn up fat -- without gobbling up muscle as an energy source -- during prolonged periods of self-starvation, without affecting vital fuel supplies to the brain.

Obesity expert Dr. Robert Dent thinks it will be possible in the not-too-distant future.

"That's the fascinating thing about this: What would be the ramifications for peaceful uses, or medical uses? The ramifications might be that we could help people reduce their body fat in a better way."

People have to work exceedingly hard to get into their fat stores. Even male athletes who want to get their percentage of body fat down from, for example, 21 per cent to 18 per cent, "have to exercise aerobically for at least half an hour before you start accessing fat stores," says Dent, medical director of the Ottawa Hospital's Weight Management Clinic. And while humans can go a month without food, "we don't function at peak performance."

But Dent cautions that any experiments must proceed "with the utmost respect of ethics.

"When it comes to military secrets about how you distort a human body, that doesn't ride real well with me."

Numerous drugs have been developed in conjunction with U.S. army researchers, including "wake-promoting" agents, pills that essentially eliminate the need for sleep for days.

Now, the Pentagon's quest to make soldiers function without food could lead to "grunts who are pretty much immune to normal human demands," reports Wired magazine. If successful, there's every chance an anti-food pill could become the latest "lifestyle" drug, a quick fix to puncture North America's ever-expanding girth. Just this week, the Canadian population health initiative, a program of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, reported that rates of overweight and obesity have more than doubled for Canadian adults in the last two decades.

---> http://www.canada.com/OwenSound/stor...7-d5c9ab4aa6a4

[adil]

The nazis had similar projects that they used to try to create the perfect soldier. none worked though, subjects ended up with all sorts of side effects, and most died within days. Just shows that the world shouldnt push humans beyond thier limits by using these. If people want2 lose weight, they get up off their phat a$$ n do sum excercise.

[Gremlin29]

They already have an anti-food pill, it's called the MRE How many of you have had to live on those for for 10 or 12 days? I guarantee weight loss! I will remain skeptical of this achievement. The news story should start out with: "Brought to you by the makers of......LSD."

[Red aRRow]

Pill would be good for SpecOps which have to operate in hostile terrain without any supply line.
Could also be good for lazy a$$ed people like me too.

[Winter]

Well this could certainly get into the wrong hands...Forget obesity, here comes anorexia.

I hope it would be regulated and prescribed, not sold over the counter by the cargo-ship-load...

[Frozen Hell]

Well people working at our local McDonalds need it more than the military does. :P

[mysterious]

Oh come on! Dont the soldiers (of every country that goes to war) already go through so much pain and endurance; that now you're gona deny them NORMAL food and keep them on food pills? LOL. I think this should only be used in the most extreme and unforgiving situations and circumstances otherwise, all efforts should be made to make proper food available to the soldiers who already sacrifice a LOT for their homelands!

[Aussie Digger]

I agree with mysterious. How many fat soldiers do you see? Not very many. Most infantry soldiers in most nations would have probably no more than 12 per cent body fat at best. You need to be fit to do an infantry mans work properly. Fat is stored in a human body for a very good reason. It's designed as a reserve. It is dangerous to go below a certain fat percentage for extended periods of time. Even body builders who sometimes have a fat percentage as low as 2 per cent only manage it for short periods of time, (several weeks at most). In addition to the health aspects, a hot meal is quite often the only time you get to be a bit creative as a soldier. Usually when you're out bush (in the field) you undertake very mundane, often boring work. Try sitting out in the bush at night sometime, just staring, trying to see something in utter darkness. Intersperse this with a couple (3 maximum) hours of sleep then get up and stare into the bush for another hour and then get back to sleep for another few hours, before you wake up before dawn and get ready for another long days work. It ain't real exciting. Cooking a meal is a morale boosting exercise for the troops as it allows them to do something just for themselves and they can do anything they like (within certain limits, time frame, ingredients etc.) This can be ver important in an environment where very little is what you would "like" to do. I understand why they are trying to do this, so they can reduce the weight a soldier is expected to carry. However I doubt such a pill will ever become popular amongst the troops, for the reasons I outlined above. Cheers.

[mysterious]

BINGO! Right on Aussie!

[AmericanMarine]

MRE's are good. Especially the vegetarian.

[Winter]

Originally Posted by AmericanMarine

MRE's are good. Especially the vegetarian.

Good for the taste? Or just for the heart?

Both, even?

[AmericanMarine]

Tastes good.

[Gremlin29]

That settles it, you really are a United States Marine!!

[Red aRRow]

Originally Posted by Gremlin29

That settles it, you really are a United States Marine!!

Well come to think of it, the normal food rations of the U.S. military ain't that bad. One of my acquaintances from the U.S. marines once brought me an M.R.E which was not bad at all.

[umair]

The best food for a soldier in my opinion would be chocolate and candy bars(in the battlefield only).Cause they have a high sugar content and the glucose in them is absorbed more easily and quickly compared to normal food, thus giving a soldier energy when he needs it.Gremlin,AD,gf any comments?
BTW the Pakistani Army has it's own unique high energy food, roasted chickpeas mixed with brown sugar.Try wolfing that down without water(ain't easy!)