The thin line between protection and conviction: Experiences with child protection services and later criminal convictions among a population of adolescents.

Relying on official data provided by the Québec City Youth Center, Canada, we explore the nature and intensity of officially known criminality for all youth (N = 5399) found guilty under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act between 2003 and 2012 and assess the relationship between criminality and previous episodes of child maltreatment. This article proposes to further verify the general hypothesis stating that there are empirical links between these two phenomena. The results suggest that those youth victims of specific types of child maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse) seem to be found guilty of criminal acts that are significantly in line with these earlier episodes of maltreatment. These results might help to prevent potential occurrences of such a phenomenon and also contributes to the ongoing development of psychological and criminological theories assessing why and to what extent a child victim of maltreatment might later commit criminal offenses.

Muscle force and force control after weight loss in obese and morbidly obese men.

BACKGROUND: Decrease in fat mass and fat-free mass have been observed with weight loss induced by a dietary intervention or surgery. There are concerns that fat-free mass decrease could have some negative functional consequences. The aim of this study was to examine how weight loss affects strength and force control in obese and morbidly obese men. METHODS: Weight loss was obtained in obese individuals by a hypocaloric diet program until resistance to lose fat and in morbidly obese individuals by bariatric surgery. Maximal force was measured for upper and lower limb and the ability to maintain 15% and 40% of that force. These measures were taken at baseline, in those dieting once resistant to weight loss and 1 year after surgery for those operated on. Normal weight individuals used for control were evaluated twice (6 to 12 months apart). RESULTS: At baseline, there was no significant difference between groups for maximal forces and capabilities to maintain force levels. Weight loss averaged 11.1% of the initial body weight after dieting and 46.3% 1 year after surgery. At the same time, there was for the lower limb a loss of 10.1% in maximal force after dieting and 33.5% after surgery. For the upper limb, there was no change in maximal force after dieting whereas a decrease of 14.4% was observed after surgery. When transformed in force related to body weight, there was no change in relative force for the lower limb after dieting whereas an increased relative force after surgery. There was no significant difference for the ability for maintaining force levels. CONCLUSION: Despite a large force loss, particularly for the lower limbs in morbidly obese individuals after surgery, this loss is relatively well tolerated because the relation between force and body weight is even improved and the ability to maintain that force is preserved.

Body weight is a strong predictor of postural stability.

Proper balance control is a key aspect of acitivities of daily living. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of body weight to predict balance stability. The balance stability of 59 male subjects with BMI ranging from 17.4 to 63.8kg/m(2) was assessed using a force platform. The subjects were tested with and without vision. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to determine the independent effect of body weight, age, body height and foot length on balance stability (i.e., mean speed of the center of foot pressure). With vision, the stepwise multiple regression revealed that body weight accounted for 52% of the variance of balance stability. The addition of age contributed a further 3% to explain balance control. Without vision, body weight accounted for 54% of the variance and the addition of age and body height added a further 8% and 1% to explain the total variance, respectively. The final model explained 63% of the variance. A decrease in balance stability is strongly correlated to an increase in body weight. This suggests that body weight may be an important risk factor for falling. Future studies should examine more closely the combined effect of aging and obesity on falling and injuries and the impact of obesity on the diverse range of activities of daily living.

Plasma concentration of organochlorine compounds is associated with age and not obesity.

It has been suggested that obese individuals, because of an increased dilution space (body fat) for lipophilic organochlorines compounds, may have greater levels of toxic pollutants than lean sedentary individuals. It is important to further examine this possibility because of the potential contribution of organochlorine pesticides in the development of Parkinson's disease and other neurological diseases. The aim of this study was to further investigate the relationship between the magnitude of obesity and the plasma concentration of organochlorines for a wide range of BMI (with participants at steady state body weight). Fifty-three individuals were selected on the basis of their body mass index (BMI): lean controls (n=16; mean BMI 22.8+/-2.2 kg/m(2); mean age 38.8+/-9.4 years), obese individuals (n=19; mean BMI 33.4+/-3.0 kg/m(2); mean age 38.6+/-7.6 years) and morbidly obese individuals (n=18; mean BMI 49.3+/-6.5 kg/m(2); mean age 44.3+/-9.2 years). Blood samples were analyzed for organochlorine compounds. The relationship between the total plasma organochlorine concentration and BMI was tested using a multiple regression analysis. Age was included in the model. There was no relationship between the total plasma organochlorine concentration and BMI. Organochlorine concentrations, however, were correlated with age (BMI-adjusted R(2)=0.46; p<0.001). At steady state body weight, toxic pollutant concentrations are not associated to obesity but strongly correlate with age.

Increased plasma levels of toxic pollutants accompanying weight loss induced by hypocaloric diet or by bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Weight loss reduces the risk of several diseases. Increases of plasma organochlorine and pesticide compounds, however, have been observed with weight loss induced by a dietary intervention and by a gastroplasty. This increased concentration of toxic pollutants could be a side-effect of weight loss and a risk for health problems. The aim of this study was: 1) to observe if there is a relationship between the plasma concentration of organochlorines and BMI at steady state weight, and 2) to determine, after a bariatric surgical intervention, if the magnitude of the weight loss has a direct effect on this concentration. METHODS: Weight loss was obtained in obese individuals by a hypocaloric diet program until resistance and in morbidly obese individuals by a bariatric operation (biliopancreatic diversion - duodenal switch [BPD-DS]). Normal-weight individuals were tested to serve as controls. Blood samples were analyzed for organochlorine and pesticide compounds at baseline in all groups, after resistance to weight loss in obese individuals, and at 3 months and 1 year after surgery in morbidly obese individuals. RESULTS: At steady state weight, organochlorine and pesticide compounds were found in all groups, and the sum of all organochlorine compounds correlated with age and not BMI. Weight loss averaged 12.1% of the initial body weight after dieting and 20.9% at 3 months after surgery, respectively. This weight loss yielded significant increases in total plasma organochlorine concentration (increase of 23.8% for obese and 51.8% for morbidly obese individuals). For morbidly obese individuals, the weight loss at 1 year after surgery (46.3%) yielded a 388.2% increase in total plasma organochlorine concentration. CONCLUSION: Plasma organochlorine concentration increases with weight loss and is related to the magnitude. Future research will have to determine if: 1) this pollutant concentration remains elevated over time and 2) there are long-term effects of this high concentration on health.