What are we feeding our inmates?

The current economic downturn has caused some states to consider serving inmates less food to save money. Because South Carolina has been reported to have the lowest meal costs at $1.13/day per inmate, this study analyzed nutritional value of its prison meals. Menus were obtained from the South Carolina Department of Corrections and a county detention center. Analysis of adherence to Dietary Reference Intake recommendations revealed higher levels of cholesterol, sodium, and sugar and lower levels of fiber, magnesium, potassium, vitamin D, and vitamin E than recommended. Increasing fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and reducing sodium and sugar in inmate meals may improve health, decrease chronic disease, reduce medical costs, and benefit taxpayers.

Characteristics of the female athlete triad in collegiate cross-country runners.

UNLABELLED: The Female Athlete Triad is a life-threatening syndrome defined by disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE AND PARTICIPANTS: The author's purpose in this study was to examine female cross-country runners' (N=300) calcium consumption, along with the prevalence of 2 components of the triad: disordered eating and menstrual dysfunction. METHODS: The author used measures including the Orientation to Exercise Questionnaire, Calcium Rapid Assessment Method, and questions related to height, weight, exercise time, perceptions of eating disorders, and menstrual status. Previous or current eating disorders were reported by 19.4% of the women, 23.0% had irregular menstrual cycles, and 29.1% had inadequate calcium intake. RESULTS: Those athletes perceiving a previous/current eating disorder scored higher on the Orientation to Exercise questionnaire than did those who did not perceive such. CONCLUSION: The author recommends educational efforts for the prevention of components of the Female Athlete Triad.

A preliminary survey of dieting, body dissatisfaction, and eating problems among high school cheerleaders.

Cheerleading, a staple of American schools, has received little attention in scholarly research. This sport is considered "high risk" for development of eating disorders; therefore, female, high school cheerleaders (n = 156, mean age = 15.43 years) from the southeastern region were surveyed in this preliminary study to determine rates of dieting, body dissatisfaction, and eating problems. Almost one-half of the girls (46%) indicated they were currently trying to lose weight. Body dissatisfaction was significant by race [chi 2 (2, n = 153) = 9.270, p = .010] and was reported by 50% and 73.5% of Black and White girls, respectively. About 13% of girls had EAT-26 scores of 20 or higher (possible eating problems). On the Orientation to Exercise Questionnaire, a measure of subclinical eating disorders, those with eating problems (EAT-26 score of > or = 20) had significantly higher scores (M = 87.65, p = .0002) than those without problems (M = 76.05). Furthermore, scores increased by 69% for each unit increase in BMI (p = .0481, slope = +.6902). The cheerleaders did not appear at higher risk for eating problems than adolescent girls in general, but this age group is considered at "high risk" for eating disorders, so those who work with cheerleaders should be aware of warning signs.

Examining gender, racial, and age differences in weight concern among third, fifth, eighth, and eleventh graders.

Weight management and concern, body weight beliefs, and perceptions of friend's and family's weight concerns were examined in this study by race, grade, and gender. A stratified random sample was used to select schools within nine districts in South Carolina and an anonymous self-report paper-pencil questionnaire was completed by the students. The final sample included 3151 African American (42.3%) and White (57.7%) children (51.7% female) in the third (n=599), fifth (n=686), eighth (n=1168), and eleventh (n=698) grades. White girls were more likely to report being overweight (P=.0042), having higher personal weight concerns (P<.0001), and perceiving higher friend (P<.0001) and family weight concerns (P<.0001) than the African American girls. Using multiple regression, 29.8% of the variance in the children's personal weight concern scores was explained by perceptions of family's weight concerns (R(2)=.1659), gender (R(2)=.0762), perceptions of friend's weight concerns (R(2)=.0392), grade (R(2)=.0094), a Race x Gender interaction (R(2)=.0042), and race (R(2)=.003). Most of the children, particularly the white girls, have personal weight concerns and dieting practices which place them at risk for possible health problems. These results support the need for nutrition interventions and education in early childhood. Programs to prevent obesity and eating disorders should be tailored for differences by gender, grade, and race.