Dataset Information

How did the tobacco ban increase inmates' body weight during incarceration in Canadian federal penitentiaries? A cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This study aimed to determine how inmates' body weight changed during incarceration in Canadian federal penitentiaries, based on their history of tobacco use. Since tobacco was banned from all Canadian federal penitentiaries in 2008, little is known about the unintended health consequences of this ban, especially on inmates' body weight.

Design

Cohort study.

Setting

Participants were male and female inmates incarcerated for at least 6 months in Canadian federal penitentiaries. We collected data from 10 institutions in two Canadian regions (Ontario and Atlantic).

Participants

We collected data from 754 inmates who volunteered to participate in the study.

Intervention

This study examined weight change in relation to a history of tobacco use. In 2016-2017, anthropometric data were collected and compared with recorded anthropometric data at the beginning of incarceration (mean follow-up of 5.0±8.3 years). Self-reported data on tobacco and substance use were collected. Weight change was compared between inmates with and without a history of tobacco use.

Outcomes

The main outcome measures were body weight change (kg), body mass index (BMI) change (kg/m²), annual weight change (kg/year), and BMI and waist circumference (cm) at the time of the interview.

Results

During incarceration, ex-smokers gained more than twice the amount of weight compared with non-smokers (7.5?kg weight gain for smokers vs 3.7?kg weight gain for non-smokers). Once adjusted for covariates in a regression analysis, for inmates who gained the most weight (75th and 90th percentiles), non-smokers had, respectively, 1.64 and 2.3 lower BMI points than ex-smokers.

Conclusions

During incarceration in Canadian federal penitentiaries, inmates with a history of tobacco use gained significantly more weight than non-smokers. This put them at increased risk of developing obesity-related health problems. This information is important for the prison setting when planning related programmes and regulation.

SUBMITTER: Johnson C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6661556 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

How did the tobacco ban increase inmates' body weight during incarceration in Canadian federal penitentiaries? A cohort study.

Johnson Claire C Chaput Jean-Philippe JP Diasparra Maikol M Richard Catherine C Dubois Lise L

BMJ open 20190716 7

<h4>Objective</h4>This study aimed to determine how inmates' body weight changed during incarceration in Canadian federal penitentiaries, based on their history of tobacco use. Since tobacco was banned from all Canadian federal penitentiaries in 2008, little is known about the unintended health consequences of this ban, especially on inmates' body weight.<h4>Design</h4>Cohort study.<h4>Setting</h4>Participants were male and female inmates incarcerated for at least 6 months in Canadian federal pe ...[more]

PMID: 31315854

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Canadian penitentiaries have recently been shown to be obesogenic. However, little is known about the eating habits of inmates who gained weight while living in the prison environment. METHODS:This retrospective cohort study examined the reported food intake of inmates during incarceration in federal penitentiaries. During a face to face interview, anthropometric measures (2016-2017) were taken and compared to anthropometric data at the beginning of incarceration (mean follow-up of 5.0 ± 8.3 years). Self-reported data on food intake were collected via a food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS:Inmates who gained the most weight (15.7 kg) during incarceration reported not eating vegetables. They were followed by inmates who gained 14.3 kg and reported not eating fruit. Other inmates who gained a significant amount of weight reported not eating cereal, dairy or legumes. Moreover, inmates' weight gain was also assessed by special diets: inmates following a religious diet (4.5 kg) or a diet of conscience (-0.3 kg) gained less weight than inmates not following a diet (5.8 kg). In comparison to other types of diets, inmates on a medical diet gained the most weight (7.5 kg). Furthermore, inmates who gained significant weight (8.0 kg) also reported not purchasing healthy foods from the commissary store (or "canteen"), whereas inmates who gained less weight (4.8 kg) reported purchasing healthy foods from the commissary store (or "canteen"). The observed weight gain was positively associated with food purchased from the commissary store (or "canteen"), but was not associated with the feeding system of the penitentiary (tray, cafeteria or meal plan). DISCUSSION:Food intake during incarceration is a modifiable risk factor that could be the target of weight management interventions with inmates. Our findings suggest that inmates who gained the most weight also reported having low intake of foods deemed healthy (vegetables, fruit, cereal, dairy and legumes) from food services and from the commissary store (or "canteen") purchases.

Project description:ImportanceThe US leads the world in the raw number of incarcerated persons as well as the rate of incarceration, with detrimental effects on individual-, family-, community-, and population-level health; as such, federal research has a critical role in documenting and addressing the health-related impacts of the US criminal legal system. How often incarceration-related research is funded at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and US Department of Justice (DOJ) levels has a direct association with the public attention given to mass incarceration as well as the efficacy of strategies to mitigate negative effects and poor health related to incarceration.ObjectiveTo understand how many incarceration-related projects have been funded at the NIH, NSF, and DOJ.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional study used public historical project archives to search for relevant incarceration-related keywords (eg, incarceration, prison, parole) since January 1, 1985 (NIH and NSF), and since January 1, 2008 (DOJ). Quotations and Boolean operator logic were used. All searches and counts were conducted and double verified by 2 coauthors between December 12 and 17, 2022.Main outcomes and measuresNumber and prevalence of funded projects related to incarceration and prison keywords.ResultsThe term incarceration resulted in 3540 of 3 234 159 total project awards (0.11%) and prisoner-related terms resulted in 11 455 total project awards (0.35%) across the 3 federal agencies since 1985. Nearly a tenth of all projects funded at NIH since 1985 related to education (256 584 [9.62%]) compared with only 3373 projects (0.13%) that related to criminal legal or criminal justice or correctional system and 18 projects (0.0007%) that related to incarcerated parents. Only 1857 (0.07%) of all NIH-funded projects have been funded related to racism since 1985.Conclusions and relevanceThis cross-sectional study found that a very low number of projects about incarceration have historically been funded at the NIH, DOJ, and NSF. These findings reflect a dearth of federally funded studies investigating the effects of mass incarceration or intervention strategies to mitigate adverse effects. Given the consequences of the criminal legal system, it is undoubtedly time for researchers, and our nation, to invest more resources into studying whether this system should be maintained, the intergenerational effects of mass incarceration, and strategies to best mitigate its impact on public health.

Project description:BackgroundUnder- and over nutrition as well as nutrition risk factors such as communicable and non-communicable diseases are a common and major cause of morbidity and mortality in correctional facilities. Consequently, medical nutrition therapy (MNT), a spectrum of nutrition services aimed at optimizing individual well-being, is being recognized as integral to the health of people who experience incarceration. However, there is a paucity of research that explores the delivery of MNT in correctional facilities.MethodsA scoping review combined with secondary analysis of qualitative data (field notes, in-depth stakeholder interviews) from a 2-year ethnographic study about food insecurity and incarceration was undertaken to gain insights about the delivery of corrections-based MNT in Canada. Thematic analysis of all documents was done using an interpretive framework.ResultsAn understanding about MNT was developed within three themes: 1) specialized service provision in a unique environment; 2) challenges with the provision of MNT; and 3) consideration of corrections-based MNT alternatives. An incarcerated individual's nutritional health was conceptualized as culminating from various factors that included dietary intake and health status, enabling environments, access to quality health services, and clinical nutrition services. Nutrition care practices, which range from health promotion to rehabilitation, are challenged by issues of access, visibility, adequacy, and environmental barriers. Their success is dependent on demand (e.g., ability of recipient to act) and factors that enable quality health and food services. Advancing corrections-based MNT will require policies that provide supportive food and health environments and creating sustainable services by integrating alternatives such as peer approaches and telehealth.ConclusionsProfessional associations, government, researchers and other stakeholders can help to strengthen corrections-based MNT by fostering shifts in thinking about the role of health practitioners in these contexts, preparing future health professionals with the specialized skills needed to work in these environments, generating evidence that can best inform practice, and cultivating collaborations aimed at crime prevention, successful societal reintegration, and the reduction of recidivism.

Project description:OBJECTIVE: Habitual chocolate intake was recently found to be associated with lower body weight in three cross-sectional epidemiological studies. Our objective was to assess whether these cross-sectional results hold up in a more rigorous prospective analysis. METHODS: We used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort. Usual dietary intake was assessed by questionnaire at baseline (1987-98), and after six years. Participants reported usual chocolate intake as the frequency of eating a 1-oz (~28 g) serving. Body weight and height were measured at the two visits. Missing data were replaced by multiple imputation. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate cross-sectional and prospective associations between chocolate intake and adiposity. RESULTS: Data were from 15,732 and 12,830 participants at the first and second visit, respectively. More frequent chocolate consumption was associated with a significantly greater prospective weight gain over time, in a dose-response manner. For instance, compared to participants who ate a chocolate serving less often than monthly, those who ate it 1-4 times a month and at least weekly experienced an increase in Body Mass Index (kg/m2) of 0.26 (95% CI 0.08, 0.44) and 0.39 (0.23, 0.55), respectively, during the six-year study period. In cross-sectional analyses the frequency of chocolate consumption was inversely associated with body weight. This inverse association was attenuated after excluding participants with preexisting obesity-related illness. Compared to participants without such illness, those with it had higher BMI and reported less frequent chocolate intake, lower caloric intake, and diets richer in fruits and vegetables. They tended to make these dietary changes after becoming ill. CONCLUSIONS: Our prospective analysis found that a chocolate habit was associated with long-term weight gain, in a dose-response manner. Our cross-sectional finding that chocolate intake was associated with lower body weight did not apply to participants without preexisting serious illness.

Dataset Information

How did the tobacco ban increase inmates' body weight during incarceration in Canadian federal penitentiaries? A cohort study.

Objective

Design

Setting

Participants

Intervention

Outcomes

Results

Conclusions

Publications

How did the tobacco ban increase inmates' body weight during incarceration in Canadian federal penitentiaries? A cohort study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets