Addressing the harms of structural racism on health in incarcerated youth through improved nutrition and exercise programs

Abstract

Every year, hundreds of thousands of youth across the country enter the juvenile legal system. A significantly disproportionate number of them are youth of color. While youth arrests have declined over the past several decades, racial disparities have increased and persist at every stage of the system. Many youth of color enter the juvenile legal system with a history of trauma and stress that compromises their health and well-being. Arrest, prosecution, and incarceration exacerbate these poor health outcomes. This paper examines several of the health impacts of structural racism in the policing and incarceration of youth of color. The paper begins by highlighting some of the most pressing social determinants of adolescent health and then considers how youth detention and incarceration contribute to unhealthy weight, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease through unhealthy food environments, limited physical activity, and the added stress of the incarceration setting. This paper adds to the existing literature on the harms of youth detention and advocates for harms elimination strategies grounded in a public health approach to public safety and community-based alternatives to detention. For those youth who will remain in detention, the authors offer suggestions to reduce harms and improve the health of systems-involved youth, including opportunities for research.