Table 2.
Costs of the diet and its components of grade 5 students in Alberta by categories of diet quality
| All participants | Average cost | Low diet quality | Moderate diet quality | High diet quality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily cost, mean (SD)** | 2731 | 13.19 (3.0) | 12.12 (3.5) | 13.27 (3.0) | 13.51 (2.9) |
| FFQ food categories | |||||
| Unessential foods (snack foods/desserts, pop, iced tea, and fruit punch); mean (SD)** | 2503 | 1.39 (0.7) | 1.51 (0.86) | 1.42 (0.67) | 1.26 (0.58) |
| Vegetables and fruits; mean (SD)** | 2496 | 1.91 (1.1) | 1.20 (0.84) | 1.77 (0.97) | 2.71 (1.23) |
| Breads and cereals; mean (SD)** | 2585 | 0.51 (0.3) | 0.43 (0.24) | 0.50 (0.25) | 0.59 (1.0) |
| Dairy products; mean (SD)** | 2656 | 2.62 (1.7) | 2.99 (2.4) | 2.72 (1.6) | 2.32 (1.4) |
| Main dishes; mean (SD) ** | 2413 | 6.76 (2.8) | 6.11 (3.1) | 6.93 (2.6) | 6.65 (2.6) |
| Adherence to Canada’s Food Guide recommendations | n(%) | Average cost (SD) | |||
| Vegetables and fruit** | |||||
| Yes | 711 (26%) | 13.58 (2.9) | |||
| No | 2020 (74%) | 13.05 (3.1) | |||
| Grain products* | |||||
| Yes | 494 (18%) | 12.84 (2.5) | |||
| No | 2237(82%) | 13.26 (3.2) | |||
| Milk and alternatives | |||||
| Yes | 1217 (45%) | 13.20 (2.7) | |||
| No | 1514 (55%) | 13.18 (3.3) | |||
| Meat and alternatives** | |||||
| Yes | 1806 (66%) | 13.84 (2.9) | |||
| No | 925 (34%) | 11.91 (3.0) | |||
| Number of Canada Food Guide food groups met | |||||
| 0* | 534 (20%) | 11.91 (3.0) | |||
| 1 | 968 (35%) | 13.35 (3.3) | |||
| 2 | 643 (23%) | 13.82 (2.9) | |||
| 3 | 370 (14%) | 13.51 (2.7) | |||
| 4 | 216 (8%) | 13.15 (2.2) | |||
All costs are in 2016 Canadian dollars.FFQ, Food Frequency Questionnaire
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.001: statistical differences in costs by diet quality (using the chi-square test) and by meeting the CFG recommendations (using the t test)