Table 2.
Description of demographic characteristics of children and parents, parental perceptions of food and PA environments and geospatial variables for all children and children categorized as OW/OB and not OW/OB; random sample of households living in low-income, racially diverse communities in four cities in the state of New Jersey, USA, 2009–2010 (New Jersey Childhood Obesity Study)
| All children (n 560*) | OW/OB (n 223*) | Not OW/OB (n 337*) | P value for difference between OW/OB v. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| %, mean or sd | %, mean or sd | %, mean or sd | not OW/OB | |
| Child demographics | ||||
| Age (%) | 0·005 | |||
| 3–5 years | 17·4 | 28·4 | 71·6 | |
| 6–11 years | 40·0 | 50·6 | 49·4 | |
| 12–19 years | 42·6 | 36·0 | 64·0 | |
| Gender (%) | 0·99 | |||
| Female | 47·7 | 40·5 | 59·5 | |
| Male | 52·3 | 40·6 | 59·4 | |
| Race/ethnicity (%) | 0·80 | |||
| Non-Hispanic White | 4·9 | 29·9 | 70·1 | |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 50·4 | 42·4 | 57·6 | |
| Hispanic | 39·4 | 39·2 | 60·8 | |
| Other | 5·4 | 42·7 | 57·3 | |
| BMI category (%) | ||||
| Not OW/OB | 59·5 | |||
| OW/OB | 40·5 | |||
| Parent demographics | ||||
| Mother’s education (%) | 0·16 | |||
| High school or less | 57·1 | 45·3 | 54·7 | |
| Some college | 28·5 | 34·7 | 65·3 | |
| College plus | 14·4 | 33·3 | 66·7 | |
| Nativity (%) | 0·35 | |||
| Foreign born | 31·1 | 36·6 | 63·4 | |
| US born | 68·9 | 42·3 | 57·7 | |
| Parent BMI (kg/m2) | <0·001 | |||
| Mean | 29·7 | 31·7 | 28·4 | |
| sd | 6·59 | 6·80 | 6·07 | |
| Household characteristics | ||||
| Household poverty status (%) | 0·29 | |||
| ≤200 % FPL | 81·1 | 42·0 | 58·0 | |
| >200 % FPL | 18·9 | 34·0 | 66·0 | |
| SNAP participation (%) | 0·08 | |||
| Yes | 28·3 | 48·1 | 51·9 | |
| No | 71·7 | 37·6 | 62·4 | |
| Other federal programme participation (%) | 0·78 | |||
| Yes | 27·9 | 41·8 | 58·2 | |
| No | 72·1 | 40·0 | 60·0 | |
| Food secure (%) | 0·39 | |||
| Yes | 80·2 | 41·6 | 58·4 | |
| No | 19·8 | 36·0 | 64·0 | |
| Non-English speaking household (%) | 0·53 | |||
| Yes | 25·4 | 38·4 | 61·6 | |
| No | 74·6 | 41·2 | 58·8 | |
| Car for food shopping (%) | 0·13 | |||
| Yes | 91·8 | 39·4 | 60·6 | |
| No | 8·2 | 53·3 | 46·7 | |
| Neighbourhood characteristics | ||||
| Neighbourhood income (%) | 0·06 | |||
| Lower | 32·3 | 46·1 | 53·9 | |
| Middle | 33·9 | 44·6 | 55·4 | |
| Higher | 33·8 | 31·0 | 69·0 | |
| Neighbourhood race (%) | 0·24 | |||
| Majority Black | 52·6 | 42·3 | 57·7 | |
| Majority White | 5·4 | 50·3 | 49·7 | |
| Majority Hispanic | 29·5 | 40·8 | 59·2 | |
| Mixed | 12·5 | 27·9 | 72·1 | |
| Parental perceptions of neighbourhood | ||||
| PA opportunities in neighbourhood (%) | 0·97 | |||
| Agree | 43·9 | 40·4 | 59·6 | |
| Disagree | 56·1 | 40·6 | 59·4 | |
| Safety from traffic in neighbourhood (%) | 0·32 | |||
| Unsafe | 14·2 | 34·0 | 66·0 | |
| Safe | 85·8 | 41·6 | 58·4 | |
| Safety from crime in neighbourhood (%) | 0·20 | |||
| Unsafe | 22·2 | 33·6 | 66·4 | |
| Safe | 77·8 | 42·5 | 57·5 | |
| Neighbourhood pleasant for PA (%) | 0·70 | |||
| Unpleasant | 15·0 | 43·2 | 56·8 | |
| Pleasant | 85·0 | 40·0 | 60·0 | |
| Parks to play in neighbourhood (%) | 0·93 | |||
| Yes | 79·3 | 40·7 | 59·3 | |
| No | 20·7 | 40·0 | 60·0 | |
| PA facilities in neighbourhood (%) | 0·06 | |||
| Yes | 61·6 | 55·0 | 65·9 | |
| No | 38·4 | 45·0 | 34·1 | |
| Sidewalk condition (%) | 0·70 | |||
| Good | 93·4 | 40·3 | 59·7 | |
| Poor | 6·6 | 43·8 | 56·2 | |
| Ease of getting to store (%) | 0·16 | |||
| Easy | 68·0 | 38·0 | 62·0 | |
| Difficult | 32·0 | 46·0 | 54·0 | |
| FV available | 0·75 | |||
| Mean no. | 7·43 | 7·41 | 7·44 | |
| sd | 0·99 | 0·95 | 1·01 | |
| FV inexpensive (%) | 0·79 | |||
| Agree | 38·4 | 41·5 | 58·5 | |
| Disagree | 61·6 | 39·9 | 60·1 | |
| LFF available | 0·68 | |||
| Mean no. | 7·10 | 7·07 | 7·12 | |
| sd | 1·13 | 1·16 | 1·11 | |
| LFF inexpensive (%) | 0·44 | |||
| Agree | 29·5 | 43·8 | 56·2 | |
| Disagree | 70·5 | 39·1 | 60·9 | |
| Buy FV at main food store (%) | 0·12 | |||
| At the main store | 73·4 | 38·0 | 62·0 | |
| Somewhere else | 26·6 | 47·5 | 52·5 | |
| Geospatial variables (GIS measures) | ||||
| Presence of large park in 0·40 km (¼ mile) (%) | 0·19 | |||
| Present | 49·7 | 36·8 | 63·2 | |
| Absent | 50·3 | 44·2 | 55·8 | |
| Presence of PA facility in 0·40 km (¼ mile) (%) | 0·83 | |||
| Present | 11·8 | 39·1 | 60·9 | |
| Absent | 88·2 | 40·7 | 59·3 | |
| Presence of supermarket in 0·40 km (¼ mile) (%) | 0·16 | |||
| Present | 9·0 | 26·8 | 73·2 | |
| Absent | 91·0 | 41·9 | 58·1 | |
| Presence of convenience store in 0·40 km (¼ mile) (%) | 0·005 | |||
| Present | 81·2 | 44·0 | 56·0 | |
| Absent | 18·8 | 25·6 | 74·4 | |
| Presence of limited-service restaurant in 0·40 km (¼ mile) (%) | 0·46 | |||
| Present | 68·1 | 39·0 | 61·0 | |
| Absent | 31·9 | 43·7 | 56·3 | |
| Presence of healthy food outlet in 0·40 km (¼ mile) (%) | 0·41 | |||
| Present | 25·6 | 44·4 | 55·6 | |
| Absent | 74·4 | 39·2 | 60·8 | |
OW/OB, overweight/obese; FPL, federal poverty level; SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; PA, physical activity; FV, fruit and vegetables; LFF, low-fat foods; GIS, geographical information system.
Analysis based on weighed sample and adjusted for complex survey design.
*
Unweighted n.