Nutrition in Space: Evidence from the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

Space flight exposes humans to a hostile, stressful environment as well as to the weightlessness associated with microgravity. The stresses of space travel affect nutritional balance, as evidenced by interrelated changes in body composition, energy utilization, and endocrine function. The limited data gathered thus far suggest that space flight incurs acute decreases in fluid mass and chronic, ongoing changes in muscle and bone mass. Concurrent with these changes is an increase in energy used per unit body mass. Other preliminary data suggest that bed rest and space flight may incur increased sensitivity to insulin. Further research is needed to determine the human energy and protein requirements for space, as well as a means of quantifying changes in body composition during extended-duration space flight.     

Scalable Obesity Solutions (S.O.S.)

The know-how is available to reverse the obesity epidemic. Reversing obesity is a societal necessity because it is the predominant contributor to chronic ill health in developed countries and a growing precipitant of illness in middle and low-income countries. In the United States, for example, obesity is the chief driver of health care costs in a country that can no longer afford health care. Although some might advocate population-wide medication use to mitigate the effects of obesity on health, the more direct response is to end obesity. The goal of this paper is explain how mass-scalable obesity containment can be designed, built, and disseminated. Scalable Obesity Solutions (S.O.S.) are discussed from concept through deployment.