Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of the preventive health survey (PHS) respondents by location: established versus urban-growth local government area.
| Location | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Established Area (n = 1648) |
Growth Area (n = 1493) |
p-Value * | |
| Demographic Characteristics | ||||
| Age (years) | ||||
| Mean (SE) | 54.15 (0.31) | 56.10 (0.43) | 52.48 (0.45) | <0.001 |
| Gender (%) | ||||
| Male | 38.6 | 38.1 | 38.9 | |
| Female | 61.4 | 61.9 | 61.1 | 0.667 |
| Education (%) | ||||
| Primary | 4.0 | 4.6 | 3.4 | |
| Secondary | 74.6 | 71.7 | 77.1 | |
| Tertiary | 21.4 | 23.7 | 19.5 | <0.001 |
| Employment status (%) | ||||
| Employed (Include self-employed) | 52.2 | 48.6 | 55.2 | |
| Unemployed | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.3 | |
| Not in labour force | 43.7 | 47.5 | 40.5 | <0.001 |
| Household income (AUD) (%) | ||||
| $0–$49,999 | 45.9 | 49.0 | 43.2 | |
| $50,000–$79,999 | 18.1 | 16.8 | 19.3 | |
| $80,000–$124,999 | 16.6 | 14.1 | 18.7 | |
| ≥$125,000 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 9.9 | |
| Refused/Don’t know | 9.5 | 10.2 | 8.9 | <0.001 |
| Outcome Variable | ||||
| BMI (kg/m2) | ||||
| Mean (SE) | 27.34 (0.10) | 27.10 (0.14) | 27.55 (0.15) | 0.030 |
| Covariates: Behavioural | ||||
| Vegetable consumption (serves/day) | ||||
| Mean (SE) | 2.26 (0.03) | 2.28 (0.05) | 2.24 (0.05) | 0.439 |
| Fruit Consumption (serves/day) | ||||
| Mean (SE) | 1.74 (0.02) | 1.79 (0.04) | 1.70 (0.04) | 0.032 |
| Fast food consumption (frequency/fortnight) | ||||
| Mean (SE) | 1.12 (0.04) | 1.04(0.06) | 1.20 (0.06) | 0.053 |
| Soft drink consumption (frequency/fortnight) | ||||
| Mean (SE) | 6.12 (0.20) | 5.85 (0.30) | 6.35 (0.27) | 0.209 |
| Physical activity (%) | ||||
| Inactive | 6.8 | 7.0 | 6.7 | |
| Insufficient activity (Frequency & duration) | 25.0 | 24.0 | 25.7 | |
| Sufficient activity (frequency & duration) | 68.2 | 69.0 | 67.6 | 0.602 |
| Smoking Status (%) | ||||
| Current smoker | 14.7 | 13.6 | 15.5 | |
| Not a current smoker | 85.3 | 86.4 | 84.5 | 0.137 |
| Covariate: Area Level | ||||
| Area level disadvantage (IRSD) | ||||
| High disadvantage (IRSD deciles 1–3) | 36.2 | 40.6 | 32.4 | |
| Mid disadvantage (IRSD deciles 4–6) | 34.6 | 27.9 | 40.3 | |
| Low disadvantage (IRSD deciles 7–10) | 29.2 | 31.5 | 27.3 | <0.001 |
* p-values determined by adjusted Wald test for continuous variables and by X2 test for categorical variables. IRSD: Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage; BMI: body mass index; AUD: Australian dollar; SE: standard error.