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Prevalence and perceptions of overweight and obesity in Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal young people in custody
- Source :
- Medical Journal of Australia. 199:266-270
- Publication Year :
- 2013
- Publisher :
- AMPCo, 2013.
-
Abstract
- OBJECTIVE To describe prevalence of and risk factors for overweight, obesity and self-perceived weight gain of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian young people in custody at baseline and over 12 months of follow-up. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective cohort study of youths in custody in New South Wales, from August 2009, with follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Body mass index at baseline, categorised as overweight or obese using international cut-points; waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) at baseline, categorised as increased metabolic risk (≥ 0.5) or low metabolic risk (< 0.5); and self-perceived weight change at follow-up. RESULTS At baseline, 452 youths were incarcerated, 361 (79.9%) consented to participate, and complete anthropometry measurements were taken for 303 (67.0%). At 3, 6 and 12 months, there were 231 (76.2%), 158 (52.1%) and 143 (47.2%) participants, respectively. Two-hundred and sixty-four (87.1%) were male, 151 (49.8%) were Aboriginal, and 145 (47.9%) had been incarcerated for < 3 months at baseline. One hundred and forty-five (47.9%) were overweight or obese and 112 (37.0%) had a WHtR of ≥ 0.5 at baseline. However, only 72 (24.1%) perceived themselves as overweight at baseline, and 154 (71.6%) perceived a weight increase since incarceration despite improvements in diet and exercise. Longer incarceration time was strongly associated with overweight and obesity in Aboriginal youths at baseline and with self-perceived weight gain in non-Aboriginal youths at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS 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.
- Subjects :
- Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
Adolescent
Overweight
Weight Gain
Body Mass Index
Cohort Studies
Young Adult
Prevalence
medicine
Humans
Obesity
Prospective Studies
Prospective cohort study
business.industry
Prisoners
Weight change
General Medicine
Anthropometry
medicine.disease
Physical therapy
Female
New South Wales
medicine.symptom
business
Attitude to Health
Body mass index
Weight gain
Follow-Up Studies
Demography
Cohort study
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 13265377 and 0025729X
- Volume :
- 199
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Medical Journal of Australia
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....4611f566abfa1eaf231eead246b0c652