Overweight, obesity, and weight change among incarcerated women.
Excessive weight gain among inmates is frequently observed by correctional health care providers; however, there is little published research on weight change during incarceration. This study describes the weight and weight changes among women incarcerated in a unified correctional system (prison and jail). The women were interviewed and had their height and weight measured. At baseline, 33.0% were of normal weight, 34.9% were overweight, and 32.1% were obese. Participants were reweighed after a median of 14 days; the women had gained an average of 1.1 lbs/week (SD: 2.1 lbs, range: -3.3 to +9.2 lbs) with 71% of women gaining weight. Women incarcerated for 2 weeks or less at time of study enrollment experienced higher average weight weekly gains than those incarcerated longer than 2 weeks (1.7 lbs vs. 0.8 lbs).
Center for Primary Care and Prevention, Warren Alpert Brown University Medical School at Memorial Hospital, Pawtucket, RI, USA. Jennifer_Clarke@Brown.edu
Jennifer G
JG
Clarke
Molly E
ME
Waring
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011330:Prisons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015430:Weight Gain; D055815:Young Adult