Table 3.
Descriptive statistics*,† related to school environmental components in the primary and secondary schools surveyed, Quebec, Canada, 2008–2009
| Primary schools | Secondary schools | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | 95 % CI‡ | n | % | 95 % CI‡ | |
| Availability of food | ||||||
| Food offerings in cafeterias | ||||||
| Index of a healthy food environment | ||||||
| Milk and soya drinks | 43 | 87·1 | 75·42, 94·64 | 65 | 100·0 | – |
| Vegetables and fruit | 4 | 8·9 | 6·67, 11·58 | 35 | 53·8 | 44·84, 62·76 |
| Protein source | 44 | 88·6 | 77·08, 95·69 | 64 | 97·2 | 89·52, 99·80 |
| Whole-grain products | 24 | 47·6 | 38·05, 57·15 | 50 | 77·6 | 67·13, 86·03 |
| Presence of the four food groups | 3 | 5·1 | 3·81, 6·67 | 28 | 42·2 | 34·46, 49·94 |
| Index of an unfavourable food environment | ||||||
| Beverages that are sweet or sweetened or that contain caffeine | 6 | 11·2 | 8·43, 14·50 | 46 | 69·0 | 59·73, 78·27 |
| Food high in fat, suga, or sweeteners (including stuffed pastry) | 8 | 15·2 | 11·50, 19·54 | 57 | 85·8 | 75·84, 92·82 |
| Fried foods | 4 | 7·6 | 5·69, 9·90 | 8 | 12·5 | 9·80, 15·63 |
| Deli meats | 7 | 13·3 | 10·03, 17·16 | 24 | 37·0 | 29·91, 44·09 |
| Presence of at least one type of unfavourable food | 18 | 37·4 | 29·03, 45·77 | 62 | 94·6 | 86·18, 98·68 |
| Food offerings in vending machines located near or in dining halls | ||||||
| At least 75 % of contents of good nutritional value | N/A | 9 | 25·7 | 18·78, 33·65 | ||
| Food offerings at the child-care service | ||||||
| Presence of at least one food or beverage of low nutritional value | 17 | 37·1 | 28·69, 45·51 | N/A | ||
| Policy and organizational environment | ||||||
| Menus planned by a nutritionist | 1 | 2·9 | 2·17, 3·80 | 14 | 20·5 | 16·09, 24·91 |
| Menus planned with student input | 31 | 63·9 | 52·11, 74·59 | 32 | 48·0 | 39·65, 56·35 |
| Meal service (or food service) provided | 52 | 66·5 | 57·96, 75·04 | 66 | 100·0 | – |
| Food committee | ||||||
| Presence of at least one regular food committee | 16 | 20·9 | 16·77, 25·03 | 35 | 52·9 | 44·14, 61·66 |
| Student involvement in food committees overall§ | 2 | 6·6 | 4·53, 9·24 | 28 | 62·3 | 49·96, 73·58 |
| Menu cycle running four or more weeks | 27 | 53·2 | 43·21, 63·19 | 54 | 81·6 | 71·34, 89·42 |
| Physical environment | ||||||
| Locations for eating lunch at the school | ||||||
| Presence of drinking fountains (in the room or near the entrance) or washrooms | 62 | 83·8 | 74·37, 90·84 | 51 | 77·3 | 66·86, 85·74 |
| Food outlets near the school | ||||||
| Fast-food restaurants | 38 | 48·2 | 40·50, 55·90 | 46 | 69·9 | 60·65, 79·15 |
| Family-style restaurants | 48 | 62·2 | 53·71, 70·69 | 50 | 75·4 | 65·03, 83·99 |
| Diners (arena, mobile canteen) | 29 | 38·0 | 31·32, 44·68 | 38 | 58·7 | 49·53, 67·87 |
| Convenience stores, filling stations and pharmacies | 64 | 82·3 | 73·06, 89·42 | 60 | 90·9 | 81·77, 96·42 |
| Grocery stores, supermarkets | 41 | 53·3 | 45·22, 61·38 | 44 | 66·1 | 56·81, 75·39 |
| Other food outlets (e.g. dairy bars) | 27 | 35·3 | 29·00, 41·60 | 39 | 59·5 | 50·29, 68·71 |
| Economic environment | ||||||
| Presence of food assistance measures | ||||||
| At school | ||||||
| Breakfasts | 8 | 10·8 | 8·54, 13·06 | 12 | 18·8 | 14·85, 23·29 |
| Snacks during the day (regular) | 16 | 21·2 | 17·02, 25·38 | 5 | 8·2 | 6·40, 10·31 |
| Tickets to buy breakfast or lunch at the cafeteria | 5 | 7·0 | 5·57, 8·66 | 28 | 42·8 | 34·99, 50·61 |
| At the child-care service | ||||||
| After-school snacks (regular) | 7 | 10·7 | 8·31, 13·09 | N/A | ||
| Food provided as an emergency food measure | 40 | 57·6 | 48·75, 66·45 | N/A | ||
| Sociocultural environment | ||||||
| At school | ||||||
| Organization of food tastings | 5 | 10·1 | 7·61, 13·07 | 15 | 22·2 | 17·48, 26·92 |
| Student volunteers involved in food services | 16 | 33·0 | 25·51, 40·49 | 44 | 66·7 | 57·41, 75·99 |
| Sale of foods during fundraising campaigns | ||||||
| Presence of foods or beverages of low nutritional value§ | 28 | 54·9 | 44·68, 65·12 | 47 | 73·9 | 63·23, 82·85 |
| Organization of special events | ||||||
| Presence of foods or beverages of low nutritional value§ | 55 | 73·0 | 63·40, 81·25 | 44 | 73·6 | 62·67, 82·75 |
| At the child-care service | ||||||
| Organization of food tastings | 9 | 12·8 | 10·10, 15·92 | N/A | ||
| Presence of foods or beverages of low nutritional value§ | 1 | 0·11 | 0·05, 0·21 | N/A | ||
| Organization of kitchen or culinary activities | 42 | 61·0 | 52·01, 69·99 | N/A | ||
| Presence of foods or beverages of low nutritional value§ | 28 | 68·2 | 55·08, 79·51 | N/A | ||
| Holidays and special occasions | ||||||
| Presence of foods or beverages of low nutritional value§ | 60 | 94·9 | 86·23, 98·93 | N/A | ||
N/A, not applicable.
*
Schools that did not have food-related facilities were not surveyed.
†
The percentages vary according to the number of questionnaires and missing data.
‡
Binomial proportion confidence interval.
§
Among schools providing this type of product or service.