Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of the study population §.
| Measure | Overall (n = 149) | Male (n = 68) | Female (n = 81) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 20.0 (19.0, 21.0) | 21.0 (19.2, 22.0) | 20.0 (19.0, 21.0) |
| Weight (kg) | 64.0 (55.0, 75.0) | 74.0 a (65.0, 80.0) | 56.0 b (50.0, 66.5) |
| Height (cm) | 170 (162, 177) | 177 a (174, 180) | 163.0 b (158, 170) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 22.2 (19.7, 25.0) | 23.4 a (20.9, 25.4) | 21.1 b (19.0, 23.4) |
| WHO cut offs for BMI [45] | |||
| Underweight, n (%) | 19 (12.8) | 5 (7.4) | 14 (17.3) |
| Healthy weight, n (%) | 94 (63.1) | 42 (61.8) | 52 (64.2) |
| Overweight and Obese, n (%) | 36 (24.2) | 21 (30.9) | 15 (18.5) |
| Country of birth | |||
| Australia, n (%) | 77 (51.7) | 34 (50.0) | 43 (53.1) |
| Other, n (%) | 72 (48.3) | 34 (50.0) | 38 (46.9) |
| Asia and Pacific | 65 (43.6) | 30 (44.1) | 35 (43.2) |
| Africa | 2 (1.3) | 2 (2.9) | 0 |
| North America | 1 (0.7) | 0 | 1 (1.2) |
| Europe | 4 (2.7) | 2 (2.9) | 2 (2.5) |
| Employment status ¶ | |||
| Full-time, n (%) | 1 (0.7) | 0 | 1 (1.2) |
| Part-time or casual, n (%) | 91 (61.1) | 40 (58.8) | 51 (63.0) |
| Not working, n (%) | 52 (34.9) | 26 (38.2 | 26 (32.1) |
| Not disclosed, n (%) | 5 (3.3) | 2 (2.9) | 3 (3.7) |
| Study load | |||
| Full-time, n (%) | 146 (98.0) | 66 (97.1) | 80 (98.8) |
| Part-time, n (%) | 3 (2.0) | 2 (2.9) | 1 (1.2) |
| Quality of life measure‡ [40] | |||
| Self-reported quality of life | 3.4 (3.0, 4.0) | 3.4 (3.0, 4.0) | 3.4 (3.0, 4.0) |
| Subjective nutrition knowledge ‡ [41] | |||
| Self-reported general nutrition knowledge | 3.4 (3.0, 4.0) | 3.3 a (2.8, 4.0) | 3.4 b (3.0, 4.0) |
| Self-reported nutrition expertise | 2.5 (1.8, 3.0) | 2.5 (1.5, 3.0) | 2.5 (2.0, 3.0) |
| Healthy eating ‡ [43] | |||
| Healthy eating behaviour | 4.0 (3.0, 4.0) | 3.83 a (2.7, 4.0) | 4.0 b (3.2, 4.0) |
§ All continuous values reported as Median (25th, 75th percentile); a and b denote significant differences between male and female median scores, using Mann–Whitney U test, p < 0.05; ¶ Significance testing unable to be calculated as expected frequency was less than 5; ‡ median score of a 5-point scale, minimum score 1 ‘strongly disagree’, maximum score 5 ‘strongly agree’, subjective nutrition knowledge was split into two sub-scales: self-reported general nutrition knowledge (n = 4 items) and self-reported nutrition expertise (n = 2 items). BMI, body mass index, WHO, World Health Organisation.