Prevalence and perceptions of overweight and obesity in Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal young people in custody

Abstract

Overweight and obesity were highly prevalent but poorly recognised in young people in custody. A longer incarceration time had the strongest association with overweight obesity and self-reported weight gain. From a population health and policy perspective, changes to the liberal food environment and the approach to increasing physical activity in custody are warranted.

Weight gain during incarceration: systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Five studies assessed self‐reported change during incarceration ; four of these studies included adult participants . Four of these studies were conducted in Australia, and one study was conducted in the USA ; 84% of participants were younger than 18 years in the study by Haysom et al .…”

“…Four of these studies were conducted in Australia, and one study was conducted in the USA ; 84% of participants were younger than 18 years in the study by Haysom et al . . Four of these studies included participants from both genders (largely male); one study included adult male participants only .…”

“…Three studies were found through a search of grey literature. Therefore, a total of 16 studies were included in this review (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39). Figure 1 shows the steps followed in the literature search.…”

“…Weight change in studies assessing perceived change in weight during incarceration Five studies assessed self-reported change during incarceration (35)(36)(37)(38)(39); four of these studies included adult participants (35)(36)(37)39). Four of these studies were conducted in Australia, and one study was conducted in the USA (39); 84% of participants were younger than 18 years in the study by Haysom et al (38). Four of these studies included participants from both genders (largely male); one study included adult male participants only (37).…”

Oral health and risk factors for dental disease of Australian young people in custody

“…Dental caries is now the most common chronic disease of childhood in Australia, with a fourfold increase in dental caries between the ages of 12 and 21 years, predicting long‐term dental health and other diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease . Incarcerated young people come from Aboriginal, rural and highly disadvantaged backgrounds, and are likely to suffer a greater share of poor oral health and the long‐term sequelae than their community peers . In addition, young people entering custody have very high rates of smoking, cannabis dependence and other substance use, which add to the burden of dental disease.…”