Table 3.
Mean scores of Healthy Eating Index for Australian Adults (HEIFA-2013) by diet and health-related characteristics from domestic and international students attending a large Australian university. 1.
| Diet and Health-Related Characteristics | Total (n = 141) | Domestic (n = 115) | International (n = 26) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | Mean | 95% CI | p | N (%) | Mean | 95% CI | p | N (%) | Mean | 95% CI | p | |
| Food security status 2 | ||||||||||||
| Food secure | 129 (91) | 53.2 | 50.8–55.7 | 0.027 | 105 (91) | 53.5 | 50.7–56.3 | 0.035 | 24 (92) | 52.1 | 46.6–57.6 | NP 3 |
| Food insecure | 12 (9) | 43.7 | 35.7–51.8 | 10 (9) | 43.3 | 34.2–52.4 | 2 (8) | 46.0 | 27.0–65.1 | |||
| Does your accommodation provide meals? 4 | ||||||||||||
| No | 48 (89) | 52.2 | 48.5–55.9 | 0.662 | 26 (87) | 54.6 | 49.1–60.1 | NP | 22 (92) | 49.2 | 44.0–54.3 | NP |
| Yes | 6 (11) | 49.7 | 39.2–60.3 | 4 (13) | 46.6 | 31.9–61.2 | 2 (8) | 57.6 | 40.5–74.7 | |||
| Weekly food budget (AUD) | ||||||||||||
| $0–30 | 18 (13) | 48.2 | 41.6–54.9 | 0.157 | 18 (16) | 48.3 | 41.5–55.1 | 0.129 | 0 (0) | NA 5 | NA | 0.610 |
| $31–60 | 43 (30) | 55.7 | 51.4–60.0 | 37 (32) | 55.7 | 50.9–60.4 | 6 (23) | 55.7 | 44.6–66.9 | |||
| $61–100 | 62 (44) | 52.6 | 49.0–56.1 | 48 (42) | 53.5 | 49.3–57.6 | 14 (54) | 49.4 | 42.1–56.7 | |||
| >$100 | 18 (13) | 48.4 | 41.8–55.0 | 12 (10) | 46.2 | 37.8–54.5 | 6 (23) | 52.7 | 41.6–63.8 | |||
| Adequacy of cooking facilities | ||||||||||||
| Adequate | 125 (89) | 52.6 | 50.0–55.1 | 0.727 | 107 (93) | 52.9 | 50.1–55.8 | 0.398 | 18 (69) | 50.6 | 44.3–57.0 | 0.559 |
| Inadequate | 16 (11) | 51.2 | 44.1–58.3 | 8 (7) | 48.3 | 38.0–58.7 | 8 (31) | 53.9 | 44.4–63.4 | |||
| Self-perceived cooking skills | ||||||||||||
| Excellent | 26 (18) | 59.0 | 53.6–64.5 | 0.015 | 21 (18) | 60.8 | 54.6–67.0 | 0.009 | 5 (19) | 52.0 | 39.6-64.4 | 0.906 |
| Good | 62 (44) | 49.4 | 45.9-52.9 | 48 (42) | 49.0 | 44.9-53.1 | 14 (54) | 50.6 | 43.2-58.1 | |||
| Fair or poor | 53 (38) | 52.7 | 48.9-56.5 | 46 (40) | 52.6 | 48.5-56.8 | 7 (27) | 53.4 | 42.8-64.0 | |||
| Cooking frequency | ||||||||||||
| 3 days/week or less | 75 (53) | 49.1 | 45.9–52.2 | 0.003 | 65 (57) | 49.3 | 45.8–52.9 | 0.007 | 10 (38) | 47.2 | 39.0–55.4 | 0.170 |
| 4+ days/week | 66 (47) | 56.3 | 52.9–59.6 | 50 (43) | 56.9 | 52.8–60.9 | 16 (62) | 54.4 | 47.9–60.9 | |||
| Eating out frequency | ||||||||||||
| 3 days/week or less | 128 (91) | 52.4 | 49.9–54.9 | 0.880 | 106 (92) | 52.6 | 49.8–55.5 | 0.998 | 22 (85) | 51.2 | 45.4–57.0 | NP |
| 4+ days/week | 13 (9) | 53.0 | 45.1–60.9 | 9 (8) | 52.6 | 42.8–62.4 | 4 (15) | 53.9 | 40.4–67.5 | |||
| Self-rated physical health status | ||||||||||||
| Excellent or good | 85 (60) | 54.6 | 51.6–57.7 | 0.027 | 67 (58) | 55.2 | 51.6–58.7 | 0.031 | 18 (69) | 52.6 | 46.1–59.1 | 0.593 |
| Average or poorer | 56 (40) | 49.1 | 45.3–52.8 | 48 (42) | 49.0 | 44.9–53.2 | 8 (31) | 49.4 | 39.6–59.3 | |||
| BMI category 6 | ||||||||||||
| Underweight | 13 (9) | 45.9 | 38.1–53.7 | 0.202 | 9 (8) | 45.6 | 35.8–55.4 | 0.313 | 4 (15) | 45.5 | 31.4–59.5 | NP |
| Normal weight | 101 (72) | 52.7 | 49.9–55.6 | 81 (70) | 52.9 | 49.6–56.1 | 20 (77) | 52.3 | 46.2–58.4 | |||
| Overweight or obesity | 27 (19) | 54.4 | 48.8–59.9 | 25 (22) | 54.4 | 48.3–60.4 | 2 (8) | 57.2 | 38.0–76.4 | |||
| Self-rated mental health status | ||||||||||||
| Excellent or good | 62 (44) | 51.3 | 47.7–54.9 | 0.420 | 48 (42) | 51.6 | 47.3–55.8 | 0.525 | 14 (54) | 50.4 | 43.1–57.6 | 0.596 |
| Average or poorer | 79 (56) | 53.3 | 50.1–56.5 | 67 (58) | 53.4 | 49.8–56.9 | 12 (46) | 53.1 | 45.3–60.9 | |||
| WHO-5 Well-being index category | ||||||||||||
| Normal | 78 (55) | 53.3 | 50.1–56.5 | 0.414 | 62 (54) | 53.9 | 50.2–57.6 | 0.319 | 16 (62) | 51.1 | 44.3–57.8 | 0.783 |
| Poor wellbeing (below 13) | 63 (45) | 51.3 | 47.7–54.9 | 53 (46) | 51.1 | 47.1–55.1 | 10 (38) | 52.5 | 44.0–61.1 | |||
1 Mean scores adjusted for energy intake (EI):basal metabolic rate (BMR) through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), the potential range of HEIFA-2013 was 0–100; 2 Food security status was assessed by the 18-item Household Food Security Survey Module; 3 Not enough power; 4 A question for students lived outside parental or own home; 5 Not applicable; 6 BMI cut-offs, underweight (<18.5 kg/m2), normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2) and obesity (≥30.0 kg/m2).