TABLE 1—
Demographic Characteristics of Texas Schoolchildren: School Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) Monitoring System, Year 1 (2000–2001)
| Characteristic | 4th Grade (n = 3004) | 8th Grade (n = 2165) | 11th Grade (n = 1461) | Total (n = 6630) |
| Age, y, mean ± SD | 9.7 ± 0.6 | 13.7 ± 0.6 | 16.8 ± 0.6 | 12.6 ± 2.9 |
| Gender, % | ||||
| Girls | 50.8 | 50.0 | 50.6 | 50.5 |
| Boys | 49.2 | 50.0 | 49.4 | 49.5 |
| Race/ethnicity, % | ||||
| African American | 11.0 | 13.2 | 9.7 | 11.4 |
| Hispanic | 28.1 | 32.6 | 29.0 | 29.8 |
| White/othera | 60.9 | 54.2 | 61.3 | 58.8 |
| School district stratum, % | ||||
| Rural | 45.2 | 46.1 | 54.3 | 47.5 |
| Other urban/suburban | 23.1 | 29.0 | 30.1 | 26.6 |
| Large urban | 31.7 | 24.9 | 15.7 | 26.0 |
| Consent,b % | ||||
| Active | 13.3 | 18.9 | 11.8 | 14.8 |
| Passive | 86.7 | 81.1 | 88.2 | 85.2 |
aWhite/other category includes non-Hispanic White, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and “other.”
bActive indicates that parents signed and returned consent forms for participation in the study. Passive indicates that parents signed and returned consent forms only if they did not want to participate in the study.