Table 1.

Participant characteristics by frequency of soft drink intake in the sample of students (n 8085) newly enrolled in a comprehensive university in Changsha, China, 2017

	Frequency of any soft drink intake (times/week)
	<1		1–2		3–6		≥7
	n or mean	% or sd	n or mean	% or sd	n or mean	% or sd	n or mean	% or sd	P
Geographic region*, n and %
North	276	12	379	11	226	14	88	11	<0·001
Northeast	89	4	163	5	108	7	60	8
East	505	22	732	21	317	19	166	21
Central	621	28	923	27	409	25	193	25
South	238	11	329	9	139	9	82	10
Southwest	262	12	473	14	209	13	102	13
Northwest	247	11	446	13	209	13	94	12
Age (years), mean and sd	18·4	0·8	18·4	0·8	18·4	0·7	18·4	0·8	0·914
BMI (kg/m2), mean and sd	20·7	3·2	20·9	3·4	21·2	3·6	21·5	3·8	<0·001
BMI category, n and %
Underweight (<18·5 kg/m2)	575	27	903	26	400	25	180	23	<0·001
Normal (18·5–23·9 kg/m2)	1379	62	2005	58	916	57	448	57
Overweight (24·0 to 27·9 kg/m2)	212	9	389	11	217	13	114	14
Obese (≥28·0 kg/m2)	72	3	148	4	84	5	43	5
Gender, n and %
Male	1063	48	1994	58	1115	69	627	80	<0·001
Female	1175	52	1451	42	502	31	158	20
Ethnicity, n and %
Han	2004	90	3004	87	1403	87	685	87	0·025
Other	234	10	441	13	214	13	100	13
Annual household income (yuan), n and %
<10 000	241	11	319	9	141	9	55	7	<0·001
10 000–29 999	590	26	796	23	314	19	136	17
30 000–49 999	399	18	598	17	266	16	115	15
50–000–99 999	508	23	798	23	384	24	202	26
100 000–199 999	377	17	708	21	383	24	190	24
≥200 000	123	5	226	7	129	8	87	11
Frequency of exercise (h/week), n and %
Hardly	485	22	639	19	315	19	163	21	<0·001
<1	476	21	790	23	319	20	133	17
1–2	645	29	1001	29	448	28	197	25
3–6	471	21	804	23	402	25	198	25
≥7	161	7	211	6	133	8	94	12
Sedentary activities (h/d), n and %
<1	294	13	274	8	73	5	29	4	<0·001
1–2	1147	51	1791	52	766	47	284	36
3–6	758	34	1312	38	733	45	423	54
≥7	39	2	68	2	45	3	49	6
Daily water intake except drinks (litres), n and %
<1	653	29	1077	31	475	29	224	29	<0·001
1–1·5	1057	47	1687	49	770	48	349	44
1·6–2	367	17	523	15	293	18	145	18
>2	161	7	158	5	79	5	67	9
Alcohol drinking (times/week), n and %
Hardly	2199	98	3303	96	1495	92	683	87	<0·001
1	28	1	105	3	95	6	76	10
2–4	6	<1	21	<1	16	1	15	2
≥5	5	<1	16	<1	11	1	11	1
Passive smoking (d/week), n and %
Hardly	1929	86	2840	82	1282	79	599	76	<0·001
<1	219	10	423	12	223	14	114	15
1–2	51	2	113	3	67	4	43	5
≥3	39	2	69	2	45	3	29	4
Defecation, n and %
2 times/d	253	11	478	14	208	13	130	17	0·001
1 time/d	1406	63	2137	62	986	61	467	59
1 time/2 d	245	11	413	12	200	12	86	11
≤1 time/3 d	43	2	43	1	16	1	8	1
Irregular	291	13	374	11	207	13	94	12

^*North: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia; Northeast: Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang; East: Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Taiwan; Central: Henan, Hubei, Hunan; South: Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macao; Southwest: Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet; Northwest: Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang.