Substance Use, Disordered Eating, and Weight Gain: Describing the Prevention and Treatment Needs of Incarcerated Women
Publication: Journal of Correctional Health Care
Volume 22, Issue Number 2
Abstract
Weight-related concerns are associated with women’s substance use and treatment relapse. The prevalence of overweight, obesity, disordered eating behavior, and substance abuse history was assessed among female inmates incarcerated for 6 to 24 months at an Oregon state prison, using a self-administered survey and physical measurements. Average weight gain was 20 pounds, 87% of women were overweight (39%) or obese (48%), and 24% reported using one or more unhealthy strategies to lose weight in the past 6 months. Women who used tobacco and illicit substances before incarceration gained more weight. Integrating nutrition and weight gain issues into substance abuse treatment could benefit incarcerated women—both soon after entering prison to prevent weight gain and close to release to prevent relapse into substance use.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Correctional Health Care
Volume 22 • Issue Number 2 • April 2016
Pages: 139 - 145
PubMed: 26984137
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2016.
History
Published in print: April 2016
Published online: 1 April 2016
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Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors disclosed no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, or publication of this article. For information about JCHC’s disclosure policy, please see the Self-Study Program.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by a Healthy Food Access Initiative grant from the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Community Benefit Fund.
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