title: Weight patterns of youth entering an urban juvenile justice facility.
abstract: Adolescents with a history of incarceration face a disproportionate number of health issues compared with their peers in virtually all areas, including perceived well-being; self-esteem; acute, chronic, and psychosocial disorders; and physical activity. Some studies have shown correlates of weight status and incarceration; however, the literature is conflicting. The current study sought to assess weight patterns of primarily minority urban youth (N = 548) entering a juvenile justice facility as well as associations between medications and weight status. Results indicate incarcerated adolescents have higher rates of overweight and obesity (40%) in comparison with nonincarcerated adolescents in the state (20 to 30%) or surrounding community (30 to 34%). Of interest, incarcerated adolescents taking asthma medications have significantly higher rates of overweight and obesity when compared with those not taking asthma medications. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed and implications for future research explored.
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA School of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Lowell College of Health and Sciences, Lowell, MA, USA lori.keough@childrens.harvard.edu lori_keough@uml.edu.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keough
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Beckman
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Tatum
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sinclair
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Shannah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Shelanda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baichoo
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cobb
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D011330:Prisons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: BMI; adolescence; asthma; juvenile justice; obesity