Canadian federal penitentiaries as obesogenic environments: a retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Very little is known about how incarceration influences a person's weight in Canada. We sought to determine how inmates' weights change during their incarceration in Canadian federal penitentiaries.

Methods

We performed a retrospective, longitudinal cohort study to examine weight change in Canadian federal penitentiaries. To participate, inmates had to have been incarcerated for at least 6 months at the time of the study. Current anthropometric data were measured or taken from medical records, then compared with anthropometric data from the beginning of incarceration (mean follow-up of 5.0 ± 8.3 yr). We examined 3 outcomes: change in weight (kg), change in body mass index (BMI) and rate of weight change (kg/yr) during incarceration.

Results

A total of 1420

SUBMITTER: Johnson C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6182125 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul-Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature