Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics by food security status among first-year college students at risk of weight gain in the United States (n = 855), 2016
| All Students (n = 855)a | Food-Secure (n = 692 [81%]) | Food-Insecure (n = 163 [19%]) | P-valueb Insecure vs. Secure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y), n (%) | 0.310 | |||
| 18 | 293 (34.6) | 243 (35.3) | 50 (31.2) | |
| ≥ 19 | 555 (65.4) | 445 (64.7) | 110 (68.8) | |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.391 | |||
| Male | 262 (31.2) | 217 (31.8) | 45 (28.3) | |
| Female | 579 (68.8) | 465 (68.2) | 114 (71.7) | |
| Race/ethnicity, n (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| Non-Hispanic white | 434 (62.4) | 376 (66.0) | 58 (46.0) | |
| Non-Hispanic black | 87 (12.5) | 59 (10.4) | 28 (22.2) | |
| Hispanic/Latino | 72 (10.3) | 51 (8.9) | 21 (16.7) | |
| Other/multi-racial | 103 (14.8) | 84 (14.7) | 19 (15.1) | |
| Father’s Education Level, n (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| Some college or higher | 406 (49.8) | 355 (53.1) | 51 (34.5) | |
| High school or less | 410 (50.2) | 313 (46.9) | 97 (65.5) | |
| Mother’s Education Level, n (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| Some college or higher | 469 (56.3) | 401 (59.3) | 68 (43.3) | |
| High school or less | 364 (43.7) | 275 (40.7) | 89 (56.7) | |
| Employment Status, n (%) | 0.652 | |||
| Employed (Part-time/full-time) | 366 (43.3) | 295 (42.9) | 71 (44.9) | |
| Unemployed | 479 (56.7) | 392 (57.1) | 87 (55.1) | |
| Pell Grant Recipient, n (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 323 (39.7) | 233 (35.4) | 90 (58.4) | |
| No | 490 (60.3) | 426 (64.6) | 64 (41.6) | |
| Place of Residence, n (%) | 0.001 | |||
| On-campus | 718 (84.4) | 599 (86.3) | 119 (75.8) | |
| Off-campus | 133 (15.6) | 95 (13.7) | 38 (24.2) | |
| Meal Plan Enrollment, n (%) | 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 681 (80.0) | 568 (82.2) | 113 (70.6) | |
| No | 170 (20.0) | 123 (17.8) | 47 (29.4) |
aCounts will not always sum to 855 because of missing data
bχ2 P-values compare the difference by food security status and sociodemographic characteristics; P-value < 0.05 is statistically significant