Healthy Kids Queensland Survey 2006 - Full Report · The University of Queensland Healthy Kids Queensland Project Committee was instrumental in the design, ... Appendix II Anthropometry

Healthy KidsQueensland Survey

2006

Full Report

© The State of Queensland, Queensland Health, 2008

Copyright protects this publication. However, Queensland Health has no objection to this material being reproduced with

acknowledgment, except for commercial purposes. Permission to reproduce for commercial purposes should be sought from

the Policy and Quality Offi cer, Queensland Health, GPO Box 48, Brisbane Q 4001.

The Healthy Kids Queensland Survey 2006 was an initiative funded by Queensland Health, Queensland Government and

contracted to The University of Queensland to undertake.

ISBN No 978-1-921447-18-1

This document is available on the Queensland Health website at www.health.qld.gov.au/healthieryou/default.asp

Suggested citation:

Abbott RA, Macdonald D, Stubbs CO, Lee AJ, Harper C, Davies PSW. Healthy Kids Queensland Survey 2006 — Full Report.

Queensland Health, Brisbane, 2008

2

AcknowledgmentsThe HKQ Steering Committee provided advice guidance and support relating to all aspects of the survey.

The HKQ Steering Committee members were:

Ms Jacky Dawson, Education Queensland

Ms Di Farmer, Department of Local Government & Planning, Sport and Recreation Queensland

Ms Maureen Fletcher, Child & Youth Health Unit, Queensland Health

Dr Vicki Gedge, Population Health Branch, Queensland Health

Ms Catherine Harper, Population Health Branch, Queensland Health

Mr Tony Kitchen, Queensland Catholic Education Commission

Dr Amanda Lee, Population Health Branch, Queensland Health (QH Project Sponsor)

Ms Jenene Rosser, Independent Schools Queensland

Ms Kirstine Sketcher-Baker, Health Information Branch, Queensland Health

Ms Christina Stubbs, Population Health Branch, Queensland Health (QH Project Manager)

Mr Jeff Wood, Department of Local Government & Planning, Sport and Recreation Queensland.

The University of Queensland Healthy Kids Queensland Project Committee was instrumental in the design, and the successful

implementation of the survey. The members of the Project Committee were:

Dr Rebecca Abbott, School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland.

Ms Karen Bucholz, Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland

Dr Terry Coyne, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland

Associate Professor Peter SW Davies, Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University

of Queensland

Mr Robert Hughes, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland

Ms Zoe Lawrie, Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland

Professor Doune Macdonald, School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland.

Ms Jane Paterson, Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland.

The Project Committee is appreciative of the dedication and commitment of the Project Director, Jane Paterson,

and the Project Coordinator, Karen Bucholz.

The valuable contribution of the following people to the HKQ survey is acknowledged:

Ms Rachel Baudistel, Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland

Professor Tim Cole, University of London, UK

Ms Pamela Dodrill, Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland

Mr Simon Forsyeth, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland

Ms Marea Fox, Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland

Dr Barry Maher, IT Services, The University of Queensland

Dr Megan McCrory, Bastyr University, Seattle, USA

Ms Margaret Miller, Marg Miller Health Consulting, WA (Consultant)

Ms Deborah Noon, School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland

Mr Robert Shandga Li, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland

Professor Gail Williams, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland

Ms Rebecca Williams, Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland.

The Steering and Project Committee are very grateful to the school systems, schools, teachers, students and their families who

so enthusiastically embraced this project.

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ContentsAcknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Outline of the Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Key Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Weight and waist circumference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Diet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Physical activity behaviours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Policy implications and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

1.0 Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

1.1 Importance of physical activity in childhood and adolescence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

1.2 Importance of nutrition in childhood and adolescence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

1.3 Why Healthy Kids Queensland? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

2.0 The Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

2.1 Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

2.2 Survey tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

2.3 Survey Logistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

3.0 Anthropometric assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

3.1 Height, body weight and BMI of sample population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

3.2 BMI categories (underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obese) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

3.2.1 Comparison of overweight and obesity between Queensland children and children in WA and NSW . . . . 29

3.2.2 Trends in overweight and obesity over time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

3.3 Waist circumference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

3.3.1 Trends in waist circumference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

3.4 Body size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

4.0 Dietary assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

4.1 Energy and macronutrients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

4.1.1 Energy intake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4.1.2 Critical evaluation of energy intake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

4.1.3 Macronutrients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

4.2 Micronutrients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

4.3 Food categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

4.4 Consumption of foods of interest from the 24-hour food record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

4.5 Food habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

4.5.1 Fruit and vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

4.5.2 Meal habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

4.5.3 Beverages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

4.6 All food and drink items from the food frequency questionnaire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

5.0 Physical activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

5.1 Pedometer steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86

5.2 Physical activities and sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

5.3 Physical activity patterns and electronic media for entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

5.4 Self-reported activity levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

5.5 Active transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

5.6 Perceptions about physical activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

6.0 Concluding comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

7.0 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

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List of TablesTable 1 Age of the study population (years) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Table 2 Sample sizes according to survey tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Schema: Distribution of children recruited according to the month of survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Table 3 Height of the children by year and sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Table 4 Weights of the children by year and sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Table 5 BMI of the children by year and sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Table 6 Centiles of BMI for males by age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Table 7 Centiles of BMI for females by age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Table 8 Percentage of children classifi ed as underweight, of healthy weight, or overweight and obese. . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Table 9 Percentage of children classifi ed as overweight or obese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Table 10 Waist circumference (cm) of sample population by age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Table 11 Comparison of umbilicus waist circumference (cm) centiles in 9-year-old children* from 2006 with similar-

aged children from 1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33





Table 14 Comparison of umbilicus waist circumference (cm) centiles in 15-year-old children * from 2006 with similar-


Table 15 Children’s perceptions about their current body weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Table 16 Relation of actual body weight (by BMI cut-off category) to perception of current body weight in Year 1 children . . 35

Table 17 Relation of actual body weight (by BMI cut-off category) to perception of current body weight in Year 5 children . . 36

Table 18 Relation of actual body weight (by BMI cut-off category) to perception of current body weight in Year 10

children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Table 19 BMI Z-Scores by category of child perception of current body weight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

List of FiguresFigure 1 BMI distributions by age and sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Figure 2 Comparison of the percentage of children who are overweight or obese by State (Queensland, Western

Australia and New South Wales) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Figure 3 Comparison of the percentage of overweight and obese children in the current survey with national

percentages observed in 1985 and 1995.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Figure 4 Increase in umbilicus waist circumference centiles of 9- and 10-year-old children from 1985 to 2006. . . . . . . . 33

Figure 5 Increase of umbilicus waist circumference centiles of 14- and 15-year-old children from 1985 to 2006 . . . . . . . 34

Figure 6 Mean number of steps per day, measured with a pedometer, by Year and sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Figure 7 Percentage of children by year and gender who reported no involvement outside of school in ‘sport, exercise

or dance’ over the previous year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Figure 8 Percentage of children by year and gender who reported no involvement outside of school in ‘active play’ over

the previous year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Appendix I Classifi cation of Food Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Appendix II Anthropometry Form (Year 10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Appendix III Food Frequency Questionnaire (Year 10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Appendix IV 24 Hour Food and Drink Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Appendix V Physical Activity Questionnaire (Year 10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Appendix VI Pedometer Diary (Year 10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Appendix VII Adjustment of food intake values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

5

Table 20 Average daily energy intake (kJ/day) by year and sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Table 21 Average daily macronutrient intakes of children in Year 1 by sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Table 22 Average daily macronutrient intakes of children in Year 5 by sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Table 23 Average daily macronutrient intakes of children in Year 10 by sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Table 24 Average daily micronutrient intakes of children in Year 1 by sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Table 25 Average daily micronutrient intakes of children in Year 5 by sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Table 26 Average daily micronutrient intakes of children in Year 10 by sex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Table 27 Percentage of children failing to meet the micronutrient EAR by year and sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Table 28 Percentage (%) of males and females consuming foods of selected major food categories by year group and

sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Table 29 Mean daily intake (g) of selected major food categories of males and females for those who consumed each

food group, by year and sex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Table 30 Median daily intake (g) of selected major food categories of males and females for those who consumed each

food group, by year and sex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Table 31 Mean daily intake (g) of selected major food categories across the entire sample by year and sex . . . . . . . . . . 47

Table 32 Percentage of study population consuming one serve or more of fruit and vegetables, take-away food and

dietary supplements on the day of the food record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Table 33 Percentage of study population consuming soft drinks and sports and energy drinks on the day of the food

record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Table 34 Frequency of reported fruit consumption in the previous 12 months. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Table 35 Frequency of reported vegetable consumption in the previous 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Table 36 Reported breakfast consumption in the previous 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Table 37 Reported usual type of breakfast cereal consumption in the previous 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Table 38 Reported frequency with which the child prepared, or helped prepare, their own breakfast over the previous

12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Table 39 Reported frequency of eating evening meal while watching TV in the previous 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Table 40 Reported frequency of eating evening meal with family in the previous 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Table 41 Reported frequency with which child helped prepare the family evening meal over the past 12 months . . . . . . 52

Table 42 Reported frequency of consuming ‘fast food’ in the previous 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Table 43 Type of milk consumed in the previous 12 months. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Table 44 Frequency of reported non-diet soft drink consumption in the previous 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Table 45 Frequency of reported diet soft drink consumption in the previous 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Table 46 Frequency of reported energy drink consumption in the previous 12 months. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Table 47 Frequency of reported sports drink consumption in the previous 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Table 48 Proportion of children consuming mince dishes (e.g. bolognaise sauce, rissoles, meatloaf) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Table 49 Proportion of children consuming mixed dishes with meat like beef, lamb, or pork (e.g. stir-fry, casserole,

Chinese). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Table 50 Proportion of children consuming mixed dishes with chicken, turkey, duck, (e.g. stir-fry,casserole, Chinese). . . . 57

Table 51 Proportion of children consuming roast, BBQ or steamed chicken, turkey, duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Table 52 Proportion of children consuming crumbed fried chicken, nuggets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Table 53 Proportion of children consuming roast meat (e.g. beef, lamb, pork) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Table 54 Proportion of children consuming crumbed steak or chops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Table 55 Proportion of children consuming sausages, frankfurters, cheerios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Table 56 Proportion of children consuming bacon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Table 57 Proportion of children consuming ham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Table 58 Proportion of children consuming salami, luncheon meats (e.g. devon, pressed chicken) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Table 59 Proportion of children consuming liver including pate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Table 60 Proportion of children consuming other offal (e.g. kidneys) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Table 61 Proportion of children consuming canned fi sh (e.g. tuna, salmon, sardines) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Table 62 Proportion of children consuming fi sh steamed, baked, grilled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Table 63 Proportion of children consuming fi sh fried, battered, crumbed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

6

Table 64 Proportion of children consuming other seafood (e.g. prawns, oysters, calamari) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Table 65 Proportion of children consuming eggs or egg dishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Table 66 Proportion of children consuming soy- based meat substitutes (e.g. TVP, soy burger) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Table 67 Proportion of children consuming nut-based meat substitutes (e.g. Nutolene™, Vegelinks™) . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Table 68 Proportion of children consuming soybean, tofu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Table 69 Proportion of children consuming baked beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Table 70 Proportion of children consuming other beans/peas/lentils (e.g. kidney, borlotti, chickpeas, dhal, split pea) . . . 62

Table 71 Proportion of children consuming green/ mixed salad (e.g. lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, etc) in a

sandwich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Table 72 Proportion of children consuming green/ mixed salad (e.g. lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, etc) as a side

salad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Table 73 Proportion of children consuming stir-fried and mixed cooked vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Table 74 Proportion of children consuming mixed vegetables in a casserole or stew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Table 75 Proportion of children consuming vegetable soup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Table 76 Proportion of children consuming potato cooked without fat (e.g. boiled, mashed, dry baked). . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Table 77 Proportion of children consuming potato cooked with fat (e.g. chips, French fries, gems, wedges, roast) . . . . . . 63

Table 78 Proportion of children consuming carrots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Table 79 Proportion of children consuming pumpkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Table 80 Proportion of children consuming sweet potatoes and other root vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Table 81 Proportion of children consuming green peas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Table 82 Proportion of children consuming green beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Table 83 Proportion of children consuming silverbeet, spinach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Table 84 Proportion of children consuming celery, asparagus, or bean sprouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Table 85 Proportion of children consuming broccoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Table 86 Proportion of children consuming caulifl ower. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Table 87 Proportion of children consuming brussels sprouts, cabbage, coleslaw, Asian greens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Table 88 Proportion of children consuming zucchini, eggplant, squash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Table 89 Proportion of children consuming lettuce, rocket, endive, other raw salad greens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Table 90 Proportion of children consuming capsicum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Table 91 Proportion of children consuming tomatoes including canned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Table 92 Proportion of children consuming tomato products (e.g. dried, paste, sauce) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Table 93 Proportion of children consuming avocado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Tabel 94 Proportion of children consuming onion or leeks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Table 95 Proportion of children consuming sweetcorn, corn on the cob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Table 96 Proportion of children consuming mushrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Table 97 Proportion of children consuming dried fruit- all types, (e.g. sultanas, prunes, apricots) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Table 98 Proportion of children consuming fruit salad, mixed fruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Table 99 Proportion of children consuming apple, pear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Table 100 Proportion of children consuming orange, mandarin, grapefruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Table 101 Proportion of children consuming banana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Table 102 Proportion of children consuming peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, cherries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Table 103 Proportion of children consuming mango, pawpaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Table 104 Proportion of children consuming pineapple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Table 105 Proportion of children consuming berries (e.g. strawberries, blueberries) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Table 106 Proportion of children consuming melon (e.g. watermelon, rockmelon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Table 107 Proportion of children consuming other fruit (e.g. grapes, kiwi fruit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Table 108 Proportion of children consuming white bread, toast or rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Table 109 Proportion of children consuming wholemeal or mixed grain bread, toast, rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Table 110 Proportion of children consuming English muffi n, bagel, crumpet, foccacia, fl at bread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Table 111 Proportion of children consuming dry or savoury biscuits, crispbread, crackers, rice cakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Table 112 Proportion of children consuming muesli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

7

Table 113 Proportion of children consuming cooked porridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Table 114 Proportion of children consuming breakfast cereal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Table 115 Proportion of children consuming rice including white or brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Table 116 Proportion of children consuming pasta including fi lled pasta, noodles, lasagne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Table 117 Proportion of children consuming meat pie, sausage roll, other savoury pastries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Table 118 Proportion of children consuming pizza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Table 119 Proportion of children consuming hamburger with bun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Table 120 Proportion of children consuming cakes, muffi ns, scones, pikelets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Table 121 Proportion of children consuming sweet pies or sweet pastries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Table 122 Proportion of children consuming other puddings and desserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Table 123 Proportion of children consuming plain sweet biscuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Table 124 Proportion of children consuming fancy biscuit including jam/cream fi lled, chocolate, fruit and nut. . . . . . . . . 74

Table 125 Proportion of children consuming chocolate including chocolate bars (e.g. Mars™). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Table 126 Proportion of children consuming other lollies, confectioneries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Table 127 Proportion of children consuming nuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Table 128 Proportion of children consuming potato chips, corn chips, (e.g. Twisties™) etc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Table 129 Proportion of children consuming sugar, syrups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Table 130 Proportion of children consuming jam, marmalade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Table 131 Proportion of children consuming peanut butter, other nut spreads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Table 132 Proportion of children consuming butter, dairy blends, margarine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Table 133 Proportion of children consuming Vegemite™, Marmite™, Promite™. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Tabel 134 Proportion of children consuming oil and vinegar dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Table 135 Proportion of children consuming mayonnaise, other creamy dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Table 136 Proportion of children consuming milk/soy as a drink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Table 137 Proportion of children consuming fl avoured milk/soy drink (e.g. milkshake, iced-coffee, hot chocolate) . . . . . . 77

Table 138 Proportion of children consuming milk/soy on breakfast cereals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Table 139 Proportion of children consuming milk/soy to top up hot drinks (e.g. milk in tea) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Table 140 Proportion of children consuming cream or sour cream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Table 141 Proportion of children consuming ice-cream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Table 142 Proportion of children consuming yoghurt including plain, frozen, fl avoured, and fromage frais . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Table 143 Proportion of children consuming cottage or ricotta cheese. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Table 144 Proportion of children consuming cheddar and all other cheeses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Table 145 Proportion of children consuming water including unfl avoured mineral water, soda water, tap water . . . . . . . . 79

Table 146 Proportion of children consuming 100% fruit juice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Table 147 Proportion of children consuming fruit juice drinks (e.g. 35% fruit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Table 148 Proportion of children consuming cordial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Table 149 Proportion of children consuming coffee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Table 150 Proportion of children consuming tea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Table 151 Proportion of children consuming beer- low alcohol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Table 152 Proportion of children consuming beer- full strength. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Table 153 Proportion of children consuming red wine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Table 154 Proportion of children consuming white wine or champagne/sparkling wine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Table 155 Proportion of children consuming wine cooler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Table 156 Proportion of children consuming sherry or port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Table 157 Proportion of children consuming pre-mixed drinks (e.g. Bacardi breezer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Table 158 Proportion of children consuming spirits or liqueurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Table 159 Proportion of children consuming vitamin and mineral supplements (including tablets, capsules or drops) . . . . 82

Table 160 Proportion of children consuming sports supplements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Table 161 Proportion of children consuming weight control supplements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Table 162 Proportion of children consuming other dietary supplements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Table 163 Proportion of children reporting eating special foods or having a special diet over the previous twelve months . . 83

8

Table 164 Reasons for eating special foods or having a special diet over the previous twelve months. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Table 165 Proportion of children who were breast-fed as an infant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Table 166 Length of time children were breastfed (i.e. receiving breastmilk only and no infant formula or other milk as

their main drink) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Table 167 Age when children started eating solid foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Table 168 Mean number of steps per day, per weekday and per weekend day, measured with a pedometer, by year and

sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Table 169 Participation in physical activities* over the previous week for Year 1 males and females. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Table 170 Physical activities* that Year 1 males and females had ‘usually’ participated in over the previous year . . . . . . . 90

Table 171 Participation in physical activities* over the previous week for Year 5 males and females. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Table 172 Physical activities* that Year 5 males and females had ‘usually’ participated in over the previous year . . . . . . . 91

Table 173 Participation in physical activities* over the previous week for Year 10 males and females . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Table 174 Physical activities* that Year 10 males and females had ‘usually’ participated in over the previous year . . . . . . 92

Table 175 Top 12 most frequently participated activities for Year 1 children (averaged across the whole study sample). . . . 92

Table 176 Top 12 most frequently participated activities for Year 5 children (averaged across the whole study sample). . . . 93

Table 177 Top 12 most frequently participated activities over previous week for Year 10 children and time (in minutes)

spent on them (averaged across the whole study sample) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Table 178 Average time (in minutes) spent on physical activities and sports over the previous week by Year 10 children. . . 94

Table 179 Accumulated time over previous week on all physical activities by Year 10 children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Table 180 Self reported frequency of the number of days over the past seven days that children engaged in physical

activity or active play that raised their heart rate or caused them to huff and puff for a total of 60 minutes or

more per day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Table 181 Reported time spent and the percentage of children who spent more than two hours on screen-based

electronic media for entertainment, during daylight hours in the previous day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Table 182 Mean (and median) time spent, in minutes, on leisure activities during the previous week for Year 1 children . . . 97

Table 183 Mean (and median) time spent, in minutes, on leisure activities during the previous week for Year 5 children . . . 97

Table 184 Mean (and median) time spent, in minutes, on leisure activities during the previous week for Year 10 children . . 98

Table 185 Self-reported perception of being ‘very active’ in school sports or PE over the previous week. . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Table 186 Self-reported activity during a usual morning or afternoon break at school over the previous week . . . . . . . . . 99

Table 187 Self-reported activity during a usual lunch break at school over the previous week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

Table 188 Self-reported frequency of being ‘very active’ in the time straight after school over the previous week. . . . . . . .100

Table 189 Self-reported frequency of being ‘very active’ in the evenings over the previous week. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

Table 190 Self-reported frequency of being ‘very active’ over the previous week. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

Table 191 Percentage of children engaging in ‘active transport’ to or from school over the previous week . . . . . . . . . . .102

Table 192 Percentage of children who used a car or public transport to get to school on the day of the survey . . . . . . . . .102

Table 193 Percentage of children who used a car or public transport to get home from school on the day before the

survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Table 194 Statements about current physical activity; percentage of children who agreed with the following comments

about physical activity and/or sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

Table 195 Statements about future physical activity; percentage of children who agreed with the following comments

about how being physically active might affect them over the next year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

9

Foreword

All children need good nutrition and adequate physical activity to grow to their full cognitive

and physical potential, achieve a healthy weight, and to be protected against chronic disease in later life. Poor nutrition and physical inactivity in childhood are associated with increased risk factors for chronic disease, including obesity and raised blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

National surveys of childhood nutrition and body measurements were undertaken in 1985 and 1995. Comparison of these studies showed that the prevalence of overweight doubled and the prevalence of obesity in children tripled during that period. The rapid increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide since the 1970s has been described as a global epidemic. Overweight including obesity now contributes 8.6 % of the burden of disability and premature death in Queensland - that’s more than cigarette smoking. As the current generation of overweight children become adults, greatly increased rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis, asthma, endocrine disorders and other weight-related conditions will occur in young adult populations, affecting quality of life and health treatment needs for the rest of their lives.

The Queensland Government is committed to working with the whole community to help promote healthy weight in children and young people through improved nutrition and increased physical activity. At the Queensland Obesity Summit, held by the Premier in May 2006, more than 90 industry, business, community and government representatives explored ways to help more Queenslanders achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Following the Summit, the Premier announced a $21 million commitment over three years for partnerships, grants, facilities and other resources to help to promote healthier eating patterns and increased physical activity. The Premier also established the Queensland Eat Well Be Active Taskforce.

These initiatives build on the work within my Department. Since 2002, Queensland Health has employed 119 new nutritionists and health educators to strengthen services that prevent illness by promoting improved nutrition and physical activity throughout the State. By 2009, this will have increased to 148 new

positions, with incremental investment to over $16 Million per annum. These frontline staff provide important services including support for parents and carers through resources such as the Personal Health

Record; Child Information: Your guide to the fi rst 12

months; which is distributed to all new parents in Queensland, and the Growing Strong, Feeding You and

Your Baby resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. The Fun not Fuss with Food workshops were developed by Queensland Health to assist parents of children with behavioural eating problems, and have been shown to effectively improve children’s eating behaviour. Over 7000 Fun not Fuss with Food parent resources have been distributed across Queensland in the last two years. Implementation of Optimal

Infant Nutrition: evidence-based guidelines, and the Queensland Health Work and Breastfeeding Policy also support parents to breastfeed, which has been shown to reduce the risk of overweight in childhood.

The Smart Choices: Healthy Food and Drink Supply

Strategy for Queensland Schools was developed in partnership with Education Queensland to ensure that children have access at school to foods and drinks which comply with the national Dietary Guidelines for children. It has been estimated that this initiative is responsible for removing 8000 litres of soft drink from schools each week.

The Go for 2 & 5™ social marketing campaign conducted by my Department aims to increase the fruit and vegetable consumption of all Queenslanders by one serve a day. Research indicates that since the campaign began in September 2005, consumption has already increased by 0.7 of a serve per day, which represents estimated savings of around $35 Million per year in health treatment services for chronic disease. Independent research by Horticulture Australia support these results, confi rming that sales of fresh fruit and vegetables in Queensland increased by over $9 Million in the fi rst month of the campaign.

Queensland Health has developed the Physical

Activity and Nutrition out of School Hours (PANOSH) resources to assist Outside School Hours Care services to provide healthy food choices, and to keep children active during afternoon and vacation care. Evaluation indicates that the proportion of Queensland centres with nutrition and physical activity policies, provision

10

of healthy foods and average time allocated to physical activity increased signifi cantly.

The 10,000 Steps program was a two-year research project funded by Queensland Health to successfully increase physical activity participation in the Rockhampton community. Over 600 registered providers are now implementing the 10,000 steps program in a wide range of communities, workplaces and other settings to promote physical activity.

The Queensland Government is also currently implementing the Eat Well, Be Active—Healthy Kids

for Life Action Plan 2005-2008, which aims to achieve healthier weight in Queensland children and young people through the collective work of six government agencies in progressing over 100 initiatives addressing physical activity and nutrition. The Healthy Kids

Queensland survey is a key part of this initiative.

The study shows that the prevalence of overweight and obesity amongst Queensland school-aged children in 2006 was about the same as it was nationally in 1995, and lower than in recent surveys in some other states. This is very good news and indicates that the Queensland Government’s investment in this area is on the right track. Positive evaluation of individual programs suggests that our initiatives over the last fi ve years have contributed to this encouraging fi nding.

However, there is still much more to be achieved. Our children are still eating too little fruit, vegetables and milk products, and too much sugar and fat. Many children are not active enough, and boys particularly spent too much time on television and computer games.

The Queensland Government is committed to continued improvements to help make healthier choices easier choices for all Queenslanders. The results of this study will inform public health policy and practice throughout Queensland, and help to evaluate the impact of Queensland Government initiatives to promote healthy weight, nutrition and physical activity, to improve the future health of our children and young people.

Stephen Robertson MP

Minister for Health

11

Executive Summary

Introduction

The Healthy Kids Queensland Survey was commissioned by Queensland Health as part of

the Queensland Government’s ongoing commitment to promoting healthy weight, nutrition and physical activity for Queensland’s children and young people. This survey provides important data to help plan, develop and implement effective policies and programs to improve young Queenslanders’ dietary and physical activity behaviour, and to achieve healthy weight. This summary report is complemented by a full report that provides more detailed methodological information and data sets.

Methods

Data were collected throughout Queensland from April to September 2006. A total of 3691 children aged 5-17 undertaking years 1, 5 or 10 at school participated in the survey. Government and non-government schools (n = 112) were selected to participate using a random cluster design and the data were weighted to ensure the equal probability of inclusion of all children in the target population. The following information was collected:

Anthropometric assessment to indicate the proportion of Queensland children who are underweight, of a healthy weight, overweight or obese:

height, weight (to determine Body Mass Index)• waist circumference•

Dietary assessment to understand the eating patterns and nutrient intake of Queensland children:

food-frequency• 24-hour dietary record•

Physical activity assessment to understand the physical activity behaviours and exercise patterns of Queensland children:

physical activity questionnaire• pedometer study.•

Outline of the Report

After outlining the background to the Survey and its demographics and survey tools, each section provides more detail of the assessment tools, signifi cant results and key points. Individual sections address the anthropometric assessment, dietary assessment, and physical activity patterns measured in this sample of Queensland children and where appropriate, comparisons are made to other data sets.

Key Findings

Weight and waist circumference 77.5% of Queensland children aged 5–17 were of • healthy weight. 1.4% of Queensland children aged 5-17 were • underweight, 14.6% of boys and 17.7% of girls aged 5–17 were • overweight, 4.8% of boys and 5.1% of girls were obese. Overall, 21.1% of Queensland children aged 5–17 • were overweight or obese; 16.2% were overweight and 4.9% were obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity generally • increased with age, although the prevalence was highest in Year 5 girls. Overall, and within most age groups, the prevalence • of overweight and obesity was slightly lower in Queensland children compared with children of similar ages in NSW and WA in recent surveys. Comparison with national data from 1985 and • 1995 shows that the prevalence of overweight and obesity for Queensland 5-17-year olds has continued to increase; within most age groups the prevalence is twofold greater than national rates of 1985, but results suggest that the rate of increase has slowed in Queensland since 1995. Waist circumference has also increased from 1985 • to 2006 in Queensland children aged 9-11 and 14-16 (No comparative data were available for children of Year 1 age in the 1985 data set). The largest increases have occurred at the upper end of the waist circumference distribution. The data suggests that over time there has been a relative increase in abdominal obesity at the upper end of the distribution.

12

In the older age groups the BMI distribution is • stretched towards the upper end, i.e. as the age group increases, the proportion of children or young people who are obese or very obese increases. No consistent differences in the prevalence of • overweight or obesity were observed between children in urban centres and children in rural areas.

Diet On the day of survey:

The mean daily energy intake was within the • recommended levels for boys and girls in Years 1 and 5, and boys in Year 10. Year 10 girls’ intake was about 15% lower than expected, which may refl ect greater under-reporting in this age group. On average, Queensland children aged 5-17 • consumed diets in which 50% of the energy intake was derived from carbohydrate. Nearly half of this (22-25% of energy) was derived from sugars. On average, Queensland children aged 5-17, • consumed diets in which 32.5% of the energy intake was derived from fat, and 14.5% was derived from saturated fat. This compares to current NHMRC dietary guidelines recommending approximately 30% of energy intake as fat and no more than 10% coming from saturated fat. One in ten Year 10 girls had diets inadequate in iron.• One in twenty Year 1 boys and girls, half of all • children in Years 5 and half of Year 10 boys and six in seven Year 10 girls had diets inadequate in calcium. Diets low in calcium, were more common in girls than in boys at all ages. This is matched by lower intakes of milk and other dairy foods amongst girls. In contrast to the recommendation that children • aged over 2 years should choose low fat milk, most children drank whole milk. Only one in fi ve of Year 1 children reported drinking low fat milk, and this increased to one in three amongst Year 10 girls. Approximately two-thirds of Year 1 and just over • half of Year 5 boys and girls met recommendations for fruit consumption, but Year 10 children fell signifi cantly short. The average Year 1, Year 5 and Year 10 child failed to • meet recommendations for serves of vegetables and legumes: with half of the sample consuming less than one serve on the day of the survey. Approximately 1 in 5 of Queensland 5-17-year-olds • had take-away food on the day of the survey. Soft drink consumption (diet and non-diet) • increased with age. On the day of the survey,

a third of Year 10 boys and a quarter of year 10 girls consumed soft drink.

Over the past year: On average, three in fi ve Year 1 and Year 5 • children reported consuming two pieces of fruit or more per day, exceeding their minimum daily recommendations for fruit consumption, but only one in six Year 10 children met the recommendations for daily fruit intake. On average one-half of Year 1 children, one-third • of Year 5 children and just over one-fi fth of Year 10 children reported consuming the recommended amount of vegetables, for their age, per day. Over 90% of children in years 1 and 5 ate breakfast • every day, however this dropped to three quarters of Year 10 boys and just over half of Year 10 girls. Three in ten Year 1 children reported drinking • soft drink once a week or more and this rose to seven in ten of Year 10 boys and just under half of Year 10 girls. No consistent differences in dietary intakes or • behaviours were observed between children in urban areas and children in rural areas.

Physical activity behaviours

The proportion of children who were meeting national physical recommendations varied according to the measure used:

Using suggested international targets for daily • steps, three in ten Year 1 boys and four in ten Year 1 girls met physical activity targets. This increased to four in ten of Year 5 boys and just over half of Year 5 girls. For self–reported time spent in sports and physical • activities, just under two thirds of Year 10 boys were reaching daily physical activity targets of 60 minutes per day, compared to two fi fths of Year 10 girls. On direct questioning of whether national activity • recommendations were being met, only one in six Year 1 boys self reported being moderately active for 60 minutes seven days per week and this dropped to one in eight by Year 10. Only one in 15 Year 1 girls self reported meeting the physical activity recommendations and this decreased to one in 20 by Year 10.

Furthermore: Boys on average took more steps than girls at all • ages, and this difference was greatest (by more than 2,000 steps) in Year 10. Year 1 children were more active on weekends than • during the week; this pattern was reversed in Years 5 and 10. Time spent on screen-based electronic media for • entertainment increased with age; more than two in fi ve Year 10 boys and one in four Year 10 girls exceeded the current daily recommendations. School-based sports and physical education were • consistently ranked in the top two of reported forms of physical activities. Participation in active transport increased with age; • more than one-third of Year 10 children participated in active transport at least once a week and one in ten either cycled or walked to and from school daily. Use of public transport to get to school increased • with age with more than one in three Year 10 children using some form of public transport on the route to or from school. No consistent differences in physical activity • behaviours were observed between children in urban areas and children in rural areas.

13

14

Recommendation 1: The rate of increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity amongst children appears to have slowed in Queensland since the last national nutrition survey in 1995. The prevalence of unhealthy weight amongst Queensland children appears to be lower than that of other Australian States where data are available. These results suggest that the signifi cant investment by the Queensland Government and the broader community over recent years to address the epidemic of childhood obesity and prevent chronic disease though improved nutrition and increased physical activity is beginning to have an impact in Queensland.

The Queensland Government’s investment in

promotion of nutrition, physical activity and healthy

weight must be sustained in order to capitalise on this

improvement and to make further gains to achieve

better health for our children and young people

throughout their lives.

Recommendation 2:The prevalence of unhealthy weight in this survey was highest amongst girls aged around 10 years, but one in fi ve girls and one in six boys are already overweight in their fi rst year at school.

Interventions to promote nutrition, physical activity

and healthy weight must begin early in life to assist

parents and carers to raise healthy children and young

people.

Recommendation 3: Comparison of Queensland children in 2006 with national data from 1985 shows waist circumference has increased across all waist circumference centile levels, but the greatest increase has occurred in the heavier categories. In the older age groups the BMI distribution is stretched towards the upper end, i.e. as the age group increases, the proportion of children or young people who are obese or very obese increases. Not only are there more children today who are overweight, the overweight children have more central obesity, and there are more severely obese children and young people today than 20 years ago.

More services are required to treat obesity and its

health consequences in children and young people,

and greater efforts need to be made to prevent

overweight children gaining more weight.

Recommendation 4:Just under half of Year 1 and 5 children met physical activity guidelines based on international step targets. Based on self-reported time spent in sports and physical activities, two thirds of Year 10 boys and two fi fths of Year 10 girls reported accumulating the recommended 60 minutes per day of physical activity. When directly questioned, fewer than one in six boys, and one in 15 girls reported meeting the physical activity guidelines of at least one hour of moderate activity every day in the week before the survey, and the proportion decreased with age.

Just over half the children achieved an hour or more of activity on three days a week, although the proportion was higher in Year 10 boys and lower in Year 1 girls. School-based sports and physical education contributed signifi cantly to children’s and young people’s physical activity. The majority of children had not participated in active transport to school in the week before the survey. Children in Year 1 were more active on weekend days, while those in Years 5 and 10 were less active on weekends than on weekdays.

Efforts to increase children’s physical activity should

continue to be a high priority. Increasing participation

in active transport to school, active recreation and

sports provide potential opportunities to increase

children’s physical activity, particularly at weekends

for older children.

Recommendation 5: Use of electronic media for entertainment (eg computer games, television and Internet) was more prevalent amongst boys and increased with age. More than one third of boys and one quarter of girls in Year 10 exceeded the guidelines of less than two hours of screen-based activity during daylight hours in the day before the survey.

Policy implications and recommendations

15

Interventions to decrease use of electronic media

for entertainment should be encouraged, especially

for boys and young people, to reduce sedentary

behaviour.

Recommendation 6: The survey results indicate that few children met the dietary guidelines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Dietary quality decreased with age. Over half the younger children, but less than two in fi ve of the adolescents reported consuming the recommended minimum serves of fruit per day. Less than half the younger children and just over a fi fth of the adolescents reported achieving the recommended serves of vegetables per day. On the day of the survey, approximately half of all children consumed less than one serve of vegetables.

One in ten Year 10 girls had inadequate iron intake and half the children in Year 5, half the Year 10 boys and four out of fi ve Year 10 girls had inadequate calcium intakes. This is refl ected in inadequate intakes of milk products, particularly for girls, and excessive intakes of nutrient-poor “extra” foods such as soft drinks and takeaways. Less than one in fi ve children usually drank low-fat milk, which is recommended by the NHMRC for all children aged over two years. Intakes of saturated fat were about 45% higher than that recommended in all age and sex groups.

Initiatives to promote improved nutrition, including

provision of accurate, consistent nutrition information

and environmental interventions promoting

availability of and access to healthy foods for all

children must be a high priority for the Queensland

Government and all organisations involved with

children. Current efforts to promote fruit and vegetable

consumption should be continued. Greater efforts

should be made to promote the consumption of iron-

rich foods, and low fat milk products for children aged

over two years.

Recommendation 7:All available evidence suggests that poor nutrition and physical inactivity contribute signifi cantly to the poorer health outcomes experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to the general Queensland population. Insuffi cient resources

were available to allow for the development of valid instruments and over sampling to achieve reliable separate data representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in this survey.

The Queensland Government should invest in a

targeted survey to assess nutrition, physical activity

and body measurement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander children. If feasible, consideration should

be given to including other children of culturally and

linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Recommendation 8:The results of the survey are a valuable tool to inform policy and practice.

The Healthy Kids Queensland survey should be

repeated in 2009-2010 to help assess the impact

of Queensland Government initiatives to promote

nutrition, physical activity and healthy weight.

16

1.0 Background

“Health and well-being underpins the economic,

social and cultural structures of society and

contributes to the prosperity and growth of the whole

community. Healthy young people are a critical

resource for the future of Queensland .”

Queensland Health 2005 3.

Good health is important for everyone, especially children, whose growth, development and

maturation depend on optimal physical, social and emotional well-being. A healthy diet and regular, adequate physical activity are essential to promoting and maintaining good health from infancy and through the entire life course.4 Patterns of physical activity and healthy food habits are, to a large extent, acquired during childhood and adolescence, and these patterns are likely to be maintained throughout the lifespan.5 Thus, establishing these patterns early provides the basis for an active and healthy adult life.

The recent worldwide trend of an increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in children is well documented 6 and Australia is no exception. A recent review of data on Australian children aged 5-15 years, which went as far back as 1901 7 together with more recent data 8 9 show that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children has increased dramatically in the past 30-40 years. Obesity in childhood and adolescence is cause for concern because of the short-term detrimental health effects in children and because obese children have a much higher risk of becoming obese adults and experiencing the myriad adverse chronic health effects associated with obesity. 10-12

Historical data show clearly that the percentage of children categorised as overweight or obese, based on body mass index, was relatively stable at about 7-8% from the early 1900s to the early 1970s.7 Since the early 1970s, however, this percentage has increased in an almost exponential manner until 2003, when the most recent data were published. Although much of the data were not analysed separately for boys and girls, the overall fi gures indicate that, at present, between 20% and 30% of Australian children and adolescents are overweight or obese.

This is consistent with trends in many developed countries, in particular the USA and UK.

Obesity is a major health concern because it is a contributing factor to many diseases and disorders including heart disease, stroke, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer (e.g., bowel and reproductive system), osteoarthritis, and sleep apnoea. In 2005, obesity was estimated to cost Australia $3.7 billion in direct health care costs.13

Furthermore, whilst overweight and obesity are important considerations for children, there are many other benefi ts of a healthy diet and active lifestyle beyond the achievement and promotion of healthy weight.

1.1 Importance of physical activity in

childhood and adolescence

From a health perspective, there are three main

rationales for encouraging young people to take

part in regular physical activity: to optimize physical

fi tness, current health and well-being, and growth and

development, to develop active lifestyles that can be

maintained throughout adult life and to reduce the

risk of chronic diseases of adulthood.”

Biddle, Sallis & Cavill 1998 2

A positive attitude towards physical activity and adoption of a physically active lifestyle are important components of preventive medicine that should begin in childhood.14 Both physical activity and physical inactivity have a tendency to track into adulthood 15 16

and it is important to establish healthy activity habits while young.

Children who are physically active are less likely to • be overweight.17 18

Children who engage in weight-bearing activities • have greater bone density and better skeletal health in both the short- and long-term.19 Physically active children are more likely to have • a higher level of self-esteem, more positive body image, and lower levels of stress and anxiety.20

Learning by doing at an early age is fundamental • to the quality of skill acquisition.21 The best time to begin teaching motor skills fundamental to a physically active lifestyle is in the pre-primary and primary years, especially in the ‘years of readiness’ at age 5-6 years.22

17

1.2 Importance of nutrition in

childhood and adolescence

“Nutrition is a fundamental pillar of human life,

health and development across the entire life span.

From the earliest stages of fetal development, at birth,

and through infancy, childhood, adolescence and

on into adulthood, proper food and good nutrition

are essential for survival, physical growth, mental

development, performance, productivity, health and

well-being.”

World Health Organisation 1

Childhood and adolescence are periods of substantial growth and development, and are an important time to shape and consolidate healthy eating behaviours. Establishing healthy eating early is essential to preventing or postponing the onset of nutrition-related chronic diseases in adulthood.23

Adolescence is a critical period for calcium • absorption and the optimum period for gaining bone density, particularly for girls.24 The effi ciency of calcium absorption increases during puberty, and the majority of bone formation occurs at this time. Vitamins and micronutrients are essential to help • regulate the body’s metabolism and assist in the formation of bone and tissue. With the high growth demands of childhood and adolescence, adequate consumption of fruit and vegetables is as important for children and adolescents as at any other stage of life.23

A child’s rate of growth is a fundamental indicator • of dietary adequacy and health; too little or too much over a period can alter the natural progress of physical growth.23

1.3 Why Healthy Kids Queensland?

In Queensland, as in the rest of Australia and most developed countries, overweight and obesity, especially in children, has and will have enormous public health consequences. These include both short- and long-term infl uences on the risk of cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal and renal diseases, and possible impact on mental health, and the costs associated with these diseases or disorders.

The most recent reliable data on diet behaviours and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australian children (including a Queensland sample) were collected in 1995 and showed that slightly more than 20% of children aged 7-15 years were overweight or obese.9 The 2007 national children’s nutrition and physical activity survey will not provide adequate estimates of the prevalence of or the relevant risk factors for overweight and obesity in Queensland children.

To inform policy and practice for promoting nutrition, physical activity and healthy weight for children and to prevent chronic disease, the Queensland Government and other stakeholders need reliable objective current data on the prevalence of healthy weight, overweight and obesity, and data on dietary intake and physical activity patterns in Queensland children. This information is vital to the ongoing development, targeting and evaluation of health promotion programs to improve children’s nutrition and physical activity behaviour throughout the state. Queensland Health has funded the Healthy Kids Queensland Physical Activity

and Nutrition Survey to provide the data needed to plan, develop and refi ne programs to address the alarming rise in the prevalence of overweight and obesity seen in Australian children from 1985 to 1995. This survey and other multi-sector strategies aimed at making it easier for children to chose healthy foods and be more physically active are part of Eat Well Be Active

— Healthy Kids for Life: the Queensland Government’s

fi rst action plan 2005-2008. 3

18

2.0 The Survey

The Healthy Kids Queensland Survey took place throughout Queensland from April to September

2006. A random sample of 112 schools from all primary and secondary schools from government and non-government sectors were invited to take part. These schools were chosen using a random cluster design. The school setting was chosen since children in the target age groups spend the majority of their time during the week at school. Further, to maximise the statistical power of the survey, three key age groups were chosen: 5 to 7 years (the fi rst year of compulsory schooling), 9 to 11 years (just prior to puberty) and 14 to 16 years (the last year of compulsory schooling). These years are also critical times in growth and development.

The survey aimed to recruit children across Queensland and, to this end, 59 schools in urban areas and 53 from rural areas were chosen randomly. Of these, 72 agreed to take part — a response rate of 65%. The sample represented a mix of 39 schools in urban areas and 33 schools in rural areas. The defi nition of an urban school was that the school was based in a location with an Accessibility-Remoteness Index of Australia Plus (ARIA+) 25 category of 1 and was deemed highly accessible. A rural school was defi ned as a school in a location with an ARIA+ category of 2-4 that was deemed accessible through to remote.

Insuffi cient resources were available to allow for the development of valid instruments and over sampling to achieve reliable separate data representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in this survey.

The only exclusion criteria were schools with fewer than 25 students, special schools and schools that were classifi ed as ‘very remote’ according to ARIA+. The exclusion criterion was used primarily for logistic reasons and to ensure as far as possible that the recruitment and measurement of salient data were feasible within the timeframe and budget of the survey.

2.1 Demographics

A total of 3691 children and adolescents from years 1, 5 and 10 participated in the survey. The mean ages of the children participating in the survey are shown in Table 1.

An equal number of boys and girls took part. Overall: 3.8% of the study population identifi ed themselves as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, 8.4% were born in a country other than Australia and 6.9% spoke a language other than English at home. Whilst these proportions are representative of the Queensland population, the numbers of children are too small to provide separate reliable estimates of the survey outcomes in these groups.

The data arising from the survey were weighted and all results shown in this report relate to these weighted data. The data were weighted because the sampling did not achieve an equal probability of inclusion of all children in the target population for two reasons.

First, the number of classes varied by school, as did the number of classes selected from a given school. For example, a child in a school with two classes would have a one in two or 50% chance of selection (one class selected), whereas a child in a school with fi ve classes would have two chances in fi ve (or 40% chance) of selection (two classes selected). In addition, for various reasons, the sampling protocol was not followed strictly in all situations. For example, if a school insisted that all classes be included, children at that school would have a 100% probability of selection, and the probabilities would also vary between schools.

Second, not all selected children responded, leading to potential response bias. To correct, as far as possible, for selection and response bias and to obtain unbiased estimates, the probability of a child being included in the analysis (that is, selected in the fi rst place and then responding) was multiplied by the probabilities of inclusion at each successive stage; these were the probabilities of school selection, class selection and child inclusion. These probabilities were converted to weights (as the inverse of the probabilities) and applied to the weighted analyses.

The effect of a weighted analysis is to produce estimated prevalences that would correspond to the estimates seen if each child in the target population had the same probability of inclusion.26

19

2.2 Survey tools

The survey used accepted methods to assess the participants’ body dimensions, dietary intake, and physical activity. Some of the survey tools have been used previously in other Australian State surveys of physical activity and nutrition.27 28 These measures allow us to compare the results across time and location (e.g., with previous surveys or surveys in other States or countries). The particulars of each tool are addressed at the start of their respective results section. Tools for Year 10 are enclosed in the Appendix as an example. Coding and data entry procedures will be included in the subsequent technical report.

The following information was collected about the survey participants:

Age and date of birth• Anthropometric assessment to indicate the • proportion of Queensland children who are of a healthy weight, overweight or obese:

height• weight• waist circumference•

Dietary assessment to understand the eating • patterns and nutrient intake of Queensland children:

food-frequency• 24-hour dietary record•

Physical activity assessment to understand the • physical activity behaviours and exercise patterns of Queensland children:

physical activity questionnaire• pedometer study.•

Table 2 Sample sizes according to survey tools

Survey tool Year 1 Year 5 Year 10 total n

Anthropometry 1,102 1,487 1,012 3,601

24-hour food record 235* 1,397 933 2,565

Food frequency 948 1,349 946 3,243

PA questionnaire 944 1,400 956 3,300

Pedometer 915 1,397 933 3,245

PA = physical activity

* 25% of year 1 classes were selected to be asked to complete the 24-hour food record based upon the more intensive nature of collecting, evaluating and processing 24-hour dietary records in children of this age.

The data were analysed by standard procedures and, unless otherwise indicated, all data presented have been weighted to take into account the sampling framework (i.e., recruitment of certain schools and certain children), as discussed above. Table 2 shows the samples sizes for each survey tool for each age group.

The sample sizes varied slightly between survey tools because some children did not consent to participate in all measures. Overall the average response rate for each survey tool was 54%, and the response rates ranged from 39% to 68%, according to the Year group and the survey tool in question.

Table 1 Age of the study population (years)

Year 1 Year 5 Year 10

Male Female Male Female Male Female

n 568 550 718 804 480 571

Mean 6.2 6.1 10.2 10.1 15.2 15.2

SD 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4

Median 6.2 6.1 10.2 10.1 15.2 15.2

Minimum-maximum 5.4-7.6 5.0-7.4 9.0-12.2 9.4-11.9 14.2-16.6 14.2-17.4

20

Recruiting and measuring 3691 children from 112 schools over a 6 month period was a complex logistical exercise that involved a full-time project manager and study co-ordinator, and a team of 25 research assistants. Prior to the main survey that started in April, 4 pilot schools were chosen in February 2006 to help refi ne both the survey tools and scheduling of visits that had been developed. The pilot schools were an invaluable part of the HKQ project and the lessons learnt shaped the visit schedules for the main survey. Prior to the school visits, telephone contact with the school confi rmed the visit date and organised for all consent forms to be sent to the school in advance of the arrival of the HKQ survey team. It was requested that the consent forms be sent home with the children a few weeks prior to the scheduled school visit. Children were to have brought their consent forms back to the school prior to the fi rst visit of the HKQ research team.

VisitsTeams of four or fi ve personnel visited each school. For the larger schools, more than one team was required. The visits were scheduled to fi t in within a seven to ten day timeframe.

Visit 1At this visit, the HKQ survey packs, containing the questionnaires, pedometers, food measuring equipment and instructions were distributed. Detailed instructions on each survey tool (food frequency questionnaire, 24 hour food and drink record, physical activity questionnaire and pedometer diary) were provided; the extent of the detail depended on the

Year level being visited. Children were encouraged to put their pedometers on at this point. On this day, the majority of height, weight and waist measurements were also taken. This was only done on a subsequent visit if the child had not returned a completed consent form by visit 1 or had been absent at visit 1.

Visit 2The purpose of this visit was to collect and review for completeness the food frequency questionnaire, the 24 food hour food and drink record and the physical activity questionnaire and was scheduled, where possible, to be two days after visit 1. The food and drink record measuring equipment were also collected. Physical measurements were taken on any children who had been absent at Visit 1 or had not had a consent form signed by visit 1.

Visit 3Scheduled a week after visit 1, the purpose of this visit was to collect and review the pedometer and pedometer diary. Any remaining equipment or questionnaires were also collected. The students were given a certifi cate in appreciation of their help, a sun-hat and some health brochures.

For some schools, a maximum of two catch-up visits were scheduled post visit 3. This was to collect any remaining uncollected questionnaires or items of equipment that had been handed in late. The visits were spread across Terms 2 and 3 of the 2006 school calendar. The schema below presents the distribution of recruitment across the months of the survey.

Schema: Distribution of children recruited according to the month of survey

n April May June July August September

Year 1 Male 471 1.3 30.9 12.3 18.9 25.3 11.3

Female 466 0.2 28.4 15.3 22.5 20.4 12.7

Year 5 Male 611 0 22.7 18.3 22.2 27.7 9.1

Female 703 0.7 30.3 14.3 18.3 25.7 10.3

Year 10 Male 414 0.3 30.0 11.1 24.9 30.7 3.0

Female 524 0 27.2 8.4 23.5 29.3 11.6

2.3 Survey Logistics

21

The following variables were measured: height• body weight• waist circumference.•

Height, weight and waist circumference at the level of the umbilicus were measured as described by Davies et al, 2001.29 A brief summary of the equipment and protocol for each physical measurement is included below.

Height

Equipment A Seca 2200 Stadiometer was used.• The fl oor surface used was even and fi rm.• The stadiometer was calibrated before leaving the • project base, and again in situ at each school site. A one metre calibrated rod was provided to each survey team for calibration.

Procedure The measuring slide was engaged in the horizontal • position for measuring. The measuring slide was moved upwards according • to the height of the person being measured. For measuring from 130.5cm – 200cm, the HKQ • team member read off mark (1). For measuring a height below 130.5cm, the lock was released, the measuring slide was pushed downwards, and the HKQ team member read off mark (3). Participants were requested to undo or adjust hair • styles and remove hair accessories that were likely to interfere with the measurement. The participant stood erect under the measuring • slide, in bare feet with buttocks and shoulders pressed against the stadiometer. The heels were together with the arms hanging • freely by the side (palms facing the thighs). The HKQ team member ensured the participant’s • heels were not raised and that weight was evenly distributed on both feet. The participant’s head was positioned in the • Frankfort Plane. (The Frankfort Plane is the imaginary line from the hole in the ear to the bottom of the ‘orbit’, i.e. bone, of the eye.) When aligned correctly, the Frankfort Plane • is parallel to the horizontal headpiece and

perpendicular to the vertical back piece of the stadiometer. This is best viewed and aligned when the examiner is directly to the side and at eye level with the child. The HKQ team member asked the participant to • focus straight ahead (and not up or down) and breathe in deeply before the measure was taken. The HKQ team member applied gentle upward • traction to the skull behind the ears to ensure the body was fully stretched (ensured the head was not tilted backwards). The head board/platform was lowered lightly but • fi rmly to the top of the person’s head until it made fi rm contact with the top of the skull (and not on top of the hair). The height measurement was taken at maximum • inspiration.

Recording Two measurements, to the nearest 0.1 cm • (1 millimetre), were taken. A third measurement was taken if the measures • differed by 0.5cm (5 millimetres) or more. The mean of the two closest measures was included • in the analysis. Measurements that fell between two millimetres • were recorded to the nearest even millimetre.

Weight

Equipment Tanita (model HD316) digital bathroom scales were • used. The scales were placed on an even and fi rm surface. • The scales were calibrated using standard weights • before leaving the project base each time. They were also calibrated in situ at each school site, using the pre-measured weights held by each HKQ survey team.

Procedure The participant was asked to be barefoot and to • wear only light clothing (t-shirt and shorts/skirt). Heavy jewellery and heavy items (eg. coins) were removed and participants were also asked to remove heavy clothing items (jackets etc). The scales were then zeroed. •

3.0 Anthropometric assessment

22

The participant was then asked to stand evenly on • the scale, feet together, arms hanging loosely at their side and head facing forward, remaining still until asked to move off the scales.

Recording One single measure was taken to the nearest 0.1 kg.•

Waist

Equipment A Luskin Steel Measurement Tape was used.•

Procedure

Measurements were taken using two protocols:

Waist circumference – Umbilicus (measurement 1. taken at the level of the umbilicus).

Waist circumference – Last Rib and Iliac Crest 2. (measurement taken midway between the last rib and the iliac crest). The latter waist measurement is the preferred protocol for research studies as specifi ed by the World Health Organisation,30 whereas the measurement taken at the umbilicus enables direct comparison with previous national waist data.

Participants were asked to shift their clothing • being worn to gain access to the necessary parts of the waist area (i.e. shirts lifted up to a certain height). If clothing had to be worn, participants were • asked to assist by undressing to a light layer of clothing, if possible. Measurements were taken against the skin. For • those participants who were uncomfortable with this procedure, the measurement was taken over a single layer of clothing.

Waist circumference – Umbilicus1. The participants were asked to stand • comfortably with their weight evenly distributed over both feet and with their arms hanging loosely at their side. The measurement was taken at the level of the • umbilicus at the side of the participant’s body. The tape was passed around the participant’s • body (ensuring that the tape was in a horizontal position across the back of the participant and not twisted).

The HKQ team member stood at the side of the • participant to take the measurement. Participants were asked to breathe in and • breathe out naturally and the measurement was taken at the end of expiration without the tape compressing the skin (each measurement was taken at the side of the participant’s body).

Waist circumference – Last Rib and Iliac Crest2. As per above, participants were asked to stand • comfortably with their weight evenly distributed on both feet with their arms hanging loosely at their side. This measurement was taken midway between • the inferior margin of the last rib and the crest of the ilium, in a horizontal plane. Each landmark was palpated and marked with lipstick. The midpoint was determined using a measuring tape and mark. The HKQ team member stood on the side of the • participant and passed the tape around their body (ensuring that the tape was in a horizontal position and not twisted). The participants were asked to breathe in and • breathe out naturally, with the measurement taken at the end of expiration without the tape compressing the skin.

Recording For each protocol two measurements, to the nearest • 0.1 cm (1 millimetre), were taken. A third measurement was taken if the measures • differed by 0.5cm (5 millimetres) or more. The mean of the two closest measures was included • in the analysis. Measurements that fell between two millimetres • were recorded to the nearest even millimetre.

BMI

Height and weight were used to calculate body mass index (BMI) according to the equation:

BMI = weight in kg (height in m)2.

BMI is expressed in kg/m2 and was used to determine the number and percentage of the sample population who were underweight, overweight or obese.

Overweight and obesity were defi ned using the international BMI cut offs described by Cole and colleagues.31 These cut offs were derived from measurements of more than 190,000 individuals aged from birth to 25 years. Centile curves were drawn that, at age 18, passed through the adult accepted cut offs of 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2 for overweight and obesity, respectively. This produced the different cut off values for children in six-monthly groups, as published.

Underweight was defi ned as a BMI less than the third centile for sex and age according to the CDC 2000 growth data.32 Healthy weight was defi ned as not underweight, overweight or obese, as classifi ed by the BMI.

Throughout the subsequent analyses, no consistent differences were observed between children in urban areas and children in rural areas.

23

24

3.1 Height, body weight and BMI of sample population

The demographics of height, weight and BMI of the study sample are shown by Year and sex in Tables 3-5. In these tables, “n” differs according to sex and survey

outcome measures because of variation in the number of children consenting to each measure.

Table 3 Height of the children by year and sex

Height (m) n Mean SD Median Min-max

Year 1 Male 556 1.188 0.054 1.191 0.980-1.340

Female 531 1.168 0.053 1.169 0.870-1.370

Year 5 Male 706 1.410 0.066 1.411 1.140-1.600

Female 774 1.416 0.069 1.411 1.040-1.680

Year 10 Male 472 1.729 0.076 1.734 1.502-1.986

Female 536 1.632 0.064 1.636 1.151-1.813

Min-max = minimum to maximum

Table 4 Weights of the children by year and sex

Weight (kg) n Mean SD Median Min-max

Year 1 Male 556 23.1 3.8 22.5 14.2-42.7

Female 540 22.1 3.7 21.4 13.4-47.9

Year 5 Male 705 36.4 8.2 34.8 19.9-69.9

Female 776 37.3 9.0 35.5 21.9-88.6

Year 10 Male 471 64.8 12.2 63.2 34.9-118.9

Female 536 57.6 10.8 56.5 31.1-110.0


Table 5 BMI of the children by year and sex

BMI (kg/m2) n Mean SD Median Min-max

Year 1 Male 554 16.3 1.8 16.0 11.5-27.0

Female 529 16.1 1.8 15.7 12.3-28.4

Year 5 Male 704 18.2 3.0 17.5 12.2-44.2

Female 769 18.5 3.6 17.6 12.7-50.8

Year 10 Male 471 21.6 3.4 20.9 13.6-38.7

Female 534 21.6 3.7 21.1 13.6-48.5


25

Table 6 Centiles of BMI for males by age

Age (years) n 3rd 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 97th

5-6 194 13.6 14.3 15.0 15.9 17.0 18.1 19.4

6-7 348 13.7 14.3 15.0 16.0 17.3 18.8 20.9

9-10 230 14.2 15.0 16.0 17.4 19.4 22.1 26.4

10-11 441 14.5 15.3 16.2 17.5 19.4 21.8 25.8

14-15 153 17.0 18.0 19.3 20.9 23.0 25.4 28.6

15-16 297 16.3 17.6 19.1 21.0 23.4 26.0 29.2

* Centiles were calculated for each age group independently. There was no attempt to smooth centiles across age groups because of signifi cant missing data for ages 7.00 to 9.00 years and 12.00 to 14.00 years.

Table 7 Centiles of BMI for females by age

Age (years) n 3rd 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 97th

5-6 238 13.6 14.2 14.9 15.8 17.0 18.3 20.1

6-7 293 13.5 14.1 14.8 15.8 17.0 18.4 20.4

9-10 307 14.2 15.0 16.1 17.7 19.9 22.8 27.7

10-11 444 14.0 15.0 16.2 17.9 20.1 23.0 27.1

14-15 199 16.4 17.6 18.9 20.6 22.7 24.9 27.6

15-16 321 16.8 18.0 19.4 21.2 23.5 26.2 29.5

* Centiles were calculated for each age group independently. There was no attempt to smooth centiles across age groups because of signifi cant missing data for ages 7.00 to 9.00 years and 12.00 to 14.00 years.

The distribution of BMI within each age and sex grouping is presented in Figure 1. As expected, this fi gure shows clearly that as children get older, the mean BMI increases and the range of BMI increases.

Furthermore, in the older age groups (Years 5 and 10), the spread of BMI becomes stretched towards the higher end. As the age group increases, the proportion of children or young people who are obese or very obese increases (this is seen in the fi gure by the appearance of more coloured bars on the right hand side of the individual distribution charts).

Centiles were calculated for BMI for both males and females using the LMS method 33 and using the software LMSChartmaker

(www.healthforallchildren.co.uk).These data are shown in Tables 6 and 7.

KEY POINTS

In the older age groups the BMI distribution • is stretched towards the upper end, i.e. as the age group increases, the proportion of children or young people who are obese or very obese increases.

http://www.healthforallchildren.co.uk

26

Figure 1 BMI distributions by age and sex

15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt

Males aged 5.00-5.99

15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt


15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt

Males aged 9.0-9.99

15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt


15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt

Females aged 6.0-6.99

15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt


15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt


15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt


15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt


15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt


15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt


15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00

BMI

0%

4%

8%

12%

Pe

rce

nt


27

3.2 BMI categories (underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obese)

Table 8 shows the percentage of children classifi ed as underweight, of healthy weight and ‘overweight and obese’. Table 9 shows the percentage of children classifi ed as ‘overweight but not obese’ and obese, separately. In both tables, the values are the percentage of children in each category according to Year level and sex.

Fewer than 2% of the children in any age group were underweight, which was less than expected from the defi nition of underweight (< 3rd centile). Overall, about 77% of all children were of healthy weight: 81.7% of boys and 78.3% of girls in Year 1, 79.6% of boys and 72.2% of girls in Year 5, and 75.7% of boys and 78.4% of girls in Year 10. In the younger two groups, slightly more boys than girls were of healthy weight, but the opposite was seen in the older age group. On average, 21% of all children and young people were overweight or obese.

Table 8 Percentage of children classifi ed as underweight, of healthy weight, or overweight and obese

n Underweight

mean (95% CI)

Healthy weight

mean (95% CI)

Overweight and obese

mean (95% CI)

Year 1

Male 554 1.6 (0.6-2.6) 81.7 (78.5-84.9) 16.7(13.6-19.8)

Female 529 2.0 (0.8-3.2) 78.3 (74.8-81.8) 19.7 (16.3-23.1)

Year 5

Male 704 0.8 (0.1-1.5) 79.6 (76.6-82.6) 19.6 (16.7-22.5)

Female 769 1.4 (0.6-2.2) 72.2 (69.0-75.4) 26.4 (23.2-29.5)

Year 10

Male 471 1.7 (0.5-2.9) 75.7 (71.8-79.6) 22.6 (18.8-26.4)

Female 534 1.1 (0.2-2.0) 78.4 (74.9-81.9) 20.5 (17.1-23.9)

TOTAL

Male 1729 1.3 (0.8-1.8) 79.2 (77.3-81.1) 19.5 (17.6-21.4)

Female 1832 1.5 (0.9-2.1) 75.8 (73.8-77.8) 22.7 (20.8-24.6)

All 3561 1.4 (1.0-1.8) 77.5 (76.0-78.8) 21.1 (19.8-22.4)

CI = confi dence interval

Underweight was defi ned as a BMI less than the third centile for sex and age according to the CDC 2000 growth data. 32

Healthy weight was defi ned as not underweight, overweight or obese, as classifi ed by the BMI. Overweight and obesity were defi ned using the international cut offs described by Cole and colleagues. 31

28

Table 9 Percentage of children classifi ed as overweight or obese

n Overweight but not obese

mean (95% CI)

Obese

mean (95% CI)

Year 1

Male 554 12.2 (9.5-14.9) 4.5 (2.8-6.2)

Female 529 15.3 (12.2-18.4) 4.4 (2.7-6.1)

Year 5

Male 704 13.4 (10.9-15.9) 6.2 (4.4-8.0)

Female 769 19.9 (17.1-22.7) 6.5 (4.8-8.2)

Year 10

Male 471 19.4 (15.8-23.0) 3.2 (1.6-4.8)

Female 534 16.8 (13.6-20.0) 3.7 (2.1-5.3)

TOTAL

Male 1729 14.6 (12.9-16.3) 4.8 (3.8-5.8)

Female 1832 17.7 (16.0-19.4) 5.1 (4.1-6.1)

All 3561 16.2 (15.0-17.4) 4.9 (4.2-5.6)

CI = confi dence interval

Overweight and obesity were defi ned using the international cut offs described by Cole and colleagues. 31

In boys, the prevalence of overweight increased with age, from 12.2% in Year 1 to 13.4% in Year 5 to 19.4% in Year 10. In girls, the prevalence of overweight increased from Year 1 to Year 5 (15.3% to 19.9%) and then declined to 16.8% in Year 10.

In boys, the prevalence of obesity increased from Year 1 to Year 5 (4.5% to 6.2%) and then declined slightly in Year 10 (to 3.2%). A similar pattern was seen for girls; the prevalence of obesity increased from Year 1 to Year 5 (4.4% to 6.5%) and then decreased in Year 10 (to 3.7%).

More girls than boys were overweight in years 1 and 5, but this trend reversed in Year 10. The prevalence of obesity was similar in boys and girls at each Year level.

29

3.2.1 Comparison of overweight and obesity between Queensland children and children in WA and NSW

The prevalence of overweight and obesity from this survey was compared with data from recent comparable State surveys in Western Australia (WA) in 2003 and

New South Wales (NSW) in 2004.27 28 The comparison is shown in Figure 2.

In the WA survey of children aged 7-16 years, overall, 21.7% of boys and 27.8% of girls were overweight or obese. In the NSW survey of children aged 5-16 years, overall, 25% of boys and 23.3% of girls were overweight or obese.

Figure 2 Comparison of the percentage of children who are overweight or obese by State (Queensland,

Western Australia and New South Wales)

Values are mean percentage within each category.

No 6-year-olds were available for comparison with WA.

Values for NSW are estimates from tables because numbers were not presented in their report.

* Year 1 QLD boys and girls compared with NSW kindergarten boys and girls of similar age (6 years), and Year 5 QLD boys and girls compared with Year 4 NSW boys and girls of similar age (10 years).

** Year 10 boys and girls in NSW were approximately 16 years old, up to one year older than Year 10 boys and girls in QLD.

Comparisons were not possible for each Year group across all three states. Overall, the percentage of overweight and obesity in Queensland children fell within the range of 15% to 30% seen across States within Australia. For boys, Queensland had the lowest prevalence of overweight and obese children in Year 5 and Year 10, but slightly higher than NSW in Year 1. For girls, Queensland had a lower prevalence of overweight and obesity in children of Year 1 and 5 ages, and for Year 10, Queensland rates were lower than WA but similar to NSW.

Representative data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 4 to 5 year old children (mean age of 56.9 months) in 2004 from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children have recently been published. The percentage of children who were overweight or obese was 20.7% nationally and 17.9% in Queensland children.34 The Queensland rate of overweight and obesity from this national study is similar to the rate found for 5-year-olds in Healthy Kids Queensland (17.4% for 437 children aged 5.0 to 5.99 years).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

NSW

WA

QLD

year 10 (aged 15)**year 5 (aged 10)*year 1 (aged 6)*

Males Females

% %

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

NSW

WA

QLD

year 10 (aged 15)*year 5 (aged 10)*year 1 (aged 6)*

30

3.2.2 Trends in overweight and obesity over time

The prevalence of overweight and obesity from this survey was also compared with data from previous national surveys: the 1985 Australian Health and Fitness Survey (AHFS)35 and the 1995 National Nutrition Survey (NNS).36 Detailed individual state data for Queensland were not available for 1995, and weighted data

were not available for 1985. However, available data suggests that the rates of overweight and obesity in Queensland children in 1985 may have been lower than national rates, at least in boys aged 7-11 (unpublished data). Further analysis of trend data for Queensland will be undertaken in 2008.

The increasing trend in overweight and obesity is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Comparison of the percentage of overweight and obese children in the current survey with national

percentages observed in 1985 and 1995.

Values are mean percentage within each category.

There were no available data for 1985 children of an age comparable to Year 1 children in QLD

* Year 1 QLD children (aged 5-7) were compared with NNS children (aged 4-6)

**Year 5 QLD children (aged 9-12) were compared with AHFS children (aged 7-11) and NNS children (7-11).

*** Year 10 QLD children (aged 14-17) were compared with AHFS children (aged 12-15) and the averaged value of NNS children (for the groups aged 12-15 and 16-18).

Since 1985, for children of Year 5 and Year 10 age, on average there has been a twofold increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. The percentage of children who were overweight or obese in the current survey was higher than the national averages observed in the respective 1995 surveys for Year 1 and Year 5 boys, and Year 5 and Year 10 girls. For Year 10 boys the prevalence of overweight and obesity is still more than double that of 1985, but was less than that observed nationally in 1995, while for Year 1 girls the prevalence is similar to the national prevalence in 1995.

Separate data for Queensland children in 1995 were not available for analysis.

However, compared to the national increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity from 1985 to 1995, the rate of increase for the period 1995 to 2006 is lower in all age and sex groups for which data is available, except for year 5 boys. Further analysis of trend data will be undertaken once individual data for Queensland from 1985 and1995 are available.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2006

1995

1985

year 10***year 5*year 1*

Males Females

% %

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2006

1995

1985

year 10***year 5*year 1*

KEY POINTS

Less than 2% of Queensland children aged 5-17 • were underweight.

77% of Queensland children aged 5-17 were of • healthy weight.

19.5% of boys and 22.7% of girls aged 5-17 were • overweight or obese.

Overall, 21% of Queensland children aged 5-17 • were overweight or obese.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity • generally increased with age, although the prevalence was highest in Year 5 girls.

The percentage of overweight and obesity in • Queensland children fell within the range of 15% to 30%, depending on the age and sex group studied, seen across States within Australia.

Overall and within most age groups, the • percentage of boys and girls who were overweight or obese was lower in Queensland children than in NSW and WA children of the same age in recent surveys.

Comparison with national data from 1985 and • 1995 shows that the prevalence of overweight and obesity for Queensland 5-17-year-olds has continued to increase; with most age groups the prevalence being twofold greater than national rates of 1985. However, the rate of increase appears to have slowed in Queensland since 1995.

No consistent differences in the prevalence of • overweight or obesity were observed between children in urban areas and children in rural areas.

31

32

3.3 Waist circumference

BMI is used widely as a determinant of overweight or obesity, but other anthropometric indices can be used to determine risk associated with overweight and obesity. One such index is waist circumference which tracks well from childhood to adulthood and provides information relating to cardiovascular risk factors that cannot be assessed readily using BMI.37 Table 10 shows the waist measurements at the umbilicus and halfway between the last rib and the iliac crest.

As expected from normal growth, waist circumference increased with age in boys and girls. In boys, waist circumference increased from Year 1 to Year 10 by 21.3 cm at the umbilicus and by 22.4 cm at the iliac crest. In girls, waist circumference increased by 19.6 cm at the umbilicus and by 17.8 cm at the iliac crest.

Table 10 Waist circumference (cm) of sample population by age

Waist

(cm)

n Mean SD Median Minimum-maximum

Year 1 Male Umbilicus

Iliac crest

554 56.2

55.1

5.2

4.8

55.5

54.5

44.5-86.2

44.1-81.2

Female Umbilicus

Iliac crest

529 56.0

54.2

5.3

4.8

55.0

53.3

44.1-83.8

44.4-79.0


Iliac crest

699 65.5

63.6

8.8

8.3

63.7

61.7

43.7-102.7

43.0-99.8

Female Umbilicus

Iliac crest

778 66.5

63.6

9.6

9.0

64.2

61.6

47.0-108.5

47.6-101.2


Iliac crest

471 77.5

75.1

8.8

8.1

76.2

73.8

58.0-123.9

56.5-110.5

Female Umbilicus

Iliac crest

538 75.6

72.0

8.8

8.1

74.9

71.0

56.2-112.8

55.5-114.5

3.3.1 Trends in waist circumference

There are good historical data relating to waist circumference in Australian children that can be used to make a robust comparison and thus indicate changes that might have signifi cant health implications. The waist measurements taken at the umbilicus level from children in years 5 and 10 of the current survey were compared with the waist measurements of similar-aged children from the 1985 Schools Fitness Survey nationally.35 Only children who were comparable in age between the two surveys were included in the analysis. No children in Year 1 were included, but 97% of the Year 5 and 95% of the Year 10 children sample populations were.

Children were compared by age; ages 9 and 10 (Year 5) and 14 and 15 (Year 10). These comparisons are presented in Tables 11 and 12 for Year 5 children and Tables 13 and 14 for Year 10 children. The differences between 1985 and 2006 are presented graphically in Figures 4 (Year 5) and 5 (Year 10).

33

Table 11 Comparison of umbilicus waist circumference (cm) centiles in 9-year-old children* from 2006 with

similar-aged children from 1985

n 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th

Male

2006 237 53.8 56.1 59.1 63.2 68.8 76.1 87.9

1985 406 52.2 53.4 55.6 58.6 62.3 66.6 69.7

Female

2006 308 52.7 55.7 59.3 64.3 70.9 78.8 90.0

1985 432 50.3 51.7 54.2 57.6 61.7 66.5 69.9

* Children aged 9.00 to 9.99 years.




Male

2006 441 54.6 56.4 59.8 64.3 70.0 76.7 81.6

1985 501 53.3 54.5 56.9 60.1 64.1 68.8 72.4

Female

2006 449 54.7 56.6 60.3 65.3 71.7 79.4 85.3

1985 494 51.3 52.7 55.4 59.0 63.3 68.3 72.0

* Children aged 10.00 to 10.99 years.

The differences in waist circumference at the umbilicus between 1985 and 2006 for each centile for the respective age groups are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 Increase in umbilicus waist circumference centiles of 9- and 10-year-old children from 1985 to

2006

Children in Year 5 (9.00 to 10.99 yr)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th

Centile

Dif

fere

nce

(cm

)

male aged9.0-9.99

female aged9.0-9.99

male aged10.0-10.99

female aged10.0-10.99

Figure 4 shows that waist circumference in 9- and 10-year-old children increased from 1985 to 2006. Although this change in waist circumference is evident across the Year 5 population (i.e., in all

centile groups), it is also clear that the difference between 1985 and 2006 becomes greater as the centile increases.

34




Male

2006 156 65.0 67.7 70.8 75.1 80.6 87.0 96.0

1985 479 60.9 62.5 65.5 69.4 74.3 79.9 84.0

Female

2006 199 62.6 65.5 68.9 73.3 78.8 85.0 92.8

1985 414 58.1 59.7 62.8 66.8 71.7 77.0 80.8

* Children aged 14.00 to 14.99 years

Table 14 Comparison of umbilicus waist circumference (cm) centiles in 15-year-old children * from 2006

with similar-aged children from 1985


Male

2006 297 66.1 68.0 71.5 76.0 81.6 87.9 92.5

1985 468 63.0 64.6 67.7 71.6 76.4 81.7 85.6

Female

2006 324 64.7 66.6 70.2 74.9 80.4 86.4 90.5

1985 423 59.5 61.6 64.2 68.2 73.1 78.4 82.2

* Children aged 15.00 to 15.99 years

Figure 5 Increase of umbilicus waist circumference centiles of 14- and 15-year-old children from 1985 to

2006

KEY POINTS

As expected waist circumference increased with • age.

Waist circumference increased between 1985 and • 2006 in both 9- and 10- year-old children and 14- and 15- year-old children.

From 1985 to 2006, the greatest increases in • waist circumference, in absolute terms, occurred at the higher end of the waist circumference distribution. The data suggests that over time there has been a relative increase in abdominal obesity at the upper end of the distribution.

Children in Year 10 (14.00 to 15.99 yr)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th

Centile

Dif

fere

nce

(cm

)

male aged14.0-14.99


male aged15.0-15.99


Figure 5 shows that waist circumference increased by an average of 4-6 cm from 1985 to 2006. Although this change in waist circumference is evident across the Year 10 population (i.e., in all centile groups), it is also clear that the difference between 1985 and 2006 becomes greater as the centile increases.

35

Table 15 Children’s perceptions about their current body weight

n Too thin

(%)

About right

(%)

Too fat

(%)

Year 1 Male 467 10.0 85.8 4.2

Female 464 5.5 92.0 2.5

Year 5 Male 602 9.3 84.8 5.9

Female 683 4.6 88.7 6.7

Year 10 Male 414 11.8 73.1 15.1

Female 524 3.5 71.7 24.8

Perception of body weight was compared to actual body weight in two ways. Firstly perception of weight status was compared with BMI categories of underweight/ healthy weight/ overweight and obese.

Table 16 Relation of actual body weight (by BMI cut-off category) to perception of current body weight in

Year 1 children

BMI

Category

Too thin

(n)

About right

(n)

Too fat

(n)

Year 1

Male

(n=453)

Underweight

Healthy weight

Overweight

Obese

0

36

0

0

5

339

44

12

0

1

6

10

Female

(n= 448)

Underweight

Healthy weight

Overweight

Obese

4

23

1

0

3

328

62

15

1

1

4

6

Underweight was defi ned as a BMI less than the third centile for sex and age according to the CDC 2000 growth data 32. Healthy weight was defi ned as not underweight, overweight or obese, as classifi ed by the BMI. Overweight and obesity were defi ned using the international cut offs described by Cole and colleagues. 31

3.4 Body size

The children were asked as part of the second section of the food frequency questionnaire (see page 121 for details) about how they would describe their current weight. Table 15 shows their response. The majority of Year 1 and Year 5 children were happy with their body

weight, with only 5% thinking they were too fat and about 8% thinking they were too thin. This was notably different by Year 10. One in four Year 10 girls and one in six Year 10 boys thought they were too fat. One in ten Year 10 boys thought they were too thin.

36


Year 5 children

BMI

Category

Too thin

(n)

About right

(n)

Too fat

(n)

Year 5

Male

(n=592)

Underweight

Healthy weight

Overweight

Obese

3

50

0

0

3

417

63

16

0

2

19

19

Female

(n= 655)

Underweight

Healthy weight

Overweight

Obese

4

28

1

0

4

454

101

16

0

1

26

20



Year 10 children

BMI

Category

Too thin

(n)

About right

(n)

Too fat

(n)

Year 10

Male

(n=405)

Underweight

Healthy weight

Overweight

Obese

6

47

0

0

2

238

56

3

0

12

30

11

Female

(n= 490)

Underweight

Healthy weight

Overweight

Obese

2

18

1

0

3

330

29

2

0

53

38

14


Year 1 boys and girls were comparable in terms of how their perception of body shape related to weight cut-off categories, with the majority of children perceiving their body size to be ‘about right’ irrespective of their BMI. In Years 5 and 10, there were trends of difference between boys and girls: boys were more likely than girls to consider themselves too thin, and for the majority of these boys, their weight, according to BMI cut-offs, was of a healthy weight. Girls, of healthy weight, were more likely to consider themselves as too fat, and this increased with age from less than 0.5% of healthy weight Year 5 girls jumping to 13.5% of Year 10 girls. A similar trend was observed in boys, but this was not as marked.

Of those whose BMI placed them in the overweight or obese category, the proportion who considered themselves as “about right” in terms of body size decreased with age: 82% and 88% of Year 1 boys and girls, 68% and 72% of Year 5 boys and girls and 59% and 39% of Year 10 boys and girls.

The second comparison of the children’s perception about weight was compared with their actual standardised BMI score (Z-score). The Z-score is a refl ection how their BMI compares to age and sex calculated norms e.g. a Z-score of + 2.0 indicates that the BMI is 2 standard deviations above what would be expected for a child of that age and sex, and approximately only 4% of children would have a value equivalent to this or higher.

37

Table 19 BMI Z-Scores by category of child perception of current body weight

n Too thin About right Too fat

Year 1 Male 455 -0.51 0.36 1.92

Female 456 -0.59 0.34 1.55

Year 5 Male 592 -0.77 0.29 1.86

Female 661 -1.08 0.26 1.77

Year 10 Male 405 -1.01 0.32 1.43

Female 492 -0.96 0.09 1.00

KEY POINTS

The majority of Year 1 and Year 5 children and • seven in ten Year 10 children were happy with their body size.

One in four Year 10 girls thought they were too • fat and one in ten Year 10 boys thought they were too thin.

Comparisons of perception of body size with • weight cut-offs showed that by Year 5, boys of healthy weight are more likely than girls to consider themselves as too thin and girls are more likely to consider themselves as too fat.

Children classifi ed as overweight or obese by • BMI, are quite content with their body size at Year 1 and 5, but by Year 10, one in two would consider themselves as too fat.

38

4.0 Dietary assessment

Childhood and adolescence is a period of substantial growth and development, and is an important time to shape and consolidate healthy eating behaviours. National dietary guidelines 23 recommend that children and adolescents should be encouraged to:

eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits• eat plenty of cereals (including breads, rice, • pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain include lean meat, fi sh, poultry and/or alternatives•

include milks, yoghurts, cheese and/or alternatives• chose reduced-fat milk varieties (although reduced-• fat milks are not suitable for children under 2 years) choose water as a drink• avoid alcohol.•

A guide to the number of serves per day from core food groups and extra foods recommended for children and adolescents is shown below. 38

Recommended daily food intake for children and adolescents (NHMRC 2003)

Food Groups: Cereal, bread,

rice, pasta,

noodles

Vegetables,

legumes

Fruit Milk, yoghurt,

cheese

Lean meat, fi sh,

poultry, eggs,

nuts & legumes

Extra foods (soft

drink, pie, oil,

chips, sweets,

etc)

A single serve

size is equal to

one of these:

1 cup cereal; or 2

slices bread; or 1

cup cooked rice,

pasta or noodles

½ cup cooked

vegetables or

legumes; or 1 cup

salad

1 medium or 2

small pieces; or

1 cup chopped or

canned

250ml glass;

or200g yoghurt;

40g or 2 slices

cheese

65-100g cooked

lean meat, fi sh, or

poultry; or 2 eggs;

or ¹⁄³ cup nuts or

½ cup legumes

1 small piece

cake; or just ½

pizza slice; or just

¹⁄³ meat pie; or 1

can (375ml) soft

drink; or just 12

hot chips.

4-7 years 5-7 serves 2 serves 1 serve 2 serves ½ serve 1-2 serves

8-11 years 6-9 serves 3 serves 1 serve 2 serves 1 serve 1-2 serves

12-18 years 5-11 serves 4 serves 3 serves 3 serves 1 serve 1-3 serves

Dietary intakes and food habits were assessed by 24-hour food record and food frequency questionnaire, similar to those used in the 2003 WA CAPANS Survey28 which were adapted from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey.36 Although a 24-hour food record is not always representative of an individual’s usual intake because of day-to-day variability, it is a valid measure of the diet of a group or population and is a common method used in large nutrition surveys.

Throughout the subsequent analyses of children’s diets, no consistent differences were observed between children in urban areas and children in rural areas.

24-hour food record

The participants were asked to record the food and drink consumed for one 24-hour period starting from when they woke up until they went to bed that same day. Parents of years 1 and 5 children were asked to complete this and Year 10 children completed the record themselves. Due

to the more intensive nature of collecting, evaluating and processing 24-hour dietary records for young children, 25% of year 1 classes were selected to be asked to complete the 24-hour food record.

Children were encouraged to eat and drink normally, and to measure and record the amount of food or drink as it was served where possible. The record sheet gave detailed instructions about recording this information, including pictures to help the children estimate portion sizes. Each participant was given standard food-measuring instruments including measuring cups, measuring spoons and a ruler. Participants also recorded where the food was prepared (at home, at a canteen, etc). From the food record, the following dietary components were assessed:

energy• macronutrients: protein, fat (including saturated • fat), carbohydrate (including sugars) alcohol• fi bre• thiamine, niacin, ribofl avin•

39

vitamin C• iron, zinc• calcium• potassium.•

The food and drink record was analysed using the Foodworks database (Xyrus Software, Brisbane). Although other nutrients e.g. folate, were of interest, analysis of such nutrients could not be supported by available dietary analysis software and nutrient composition data available for use in Australia in 2006.

Fifty-two percent of the survey population agreed to complete the 24-hour food record; children in Year 5 had the highest response rate (64%). Of the 3,107 completed records, 553 records were either illegible or could not be coded because insuffi cient information was provided to allow for the coding of either the type or amount of food. A further 136 participants completed a repeat record to assess reproducibility and to provide data on the within-subject variability. These data will be provided in the technical report.

Food frequency questionnaire

A food frequency questionnaire, which included a detailed list of foods organised by food categories (meat, vegetables, fruit, etc) was given to each child. Parents of years 1 and 5 children were asked to complete this and Year 10 children completed the questionnaire themselves. The parents or participant indicated the number of times each particular food was eaten on average, over the previous 12 months. Other questions asked about the types of foods consumed (e.g., type of breakfast cereal) and about the dietary habits from infancy. These questions were chosen for analysis at this stage because consultation with key stakeholders revealed that they were issues with specifi c policy or health implications. The food habits section reports on the frequency of consumption of the following variables:

serves of fruit and vegetables• breakfast• evening meal with television• evening meal with parents• fast food• milk• soft drinks (non-diet and diet)• energy, electrolyte and sports drinks.•

Consumption of all remaining items from the food frequency questionnaire are shown in section 4.6.

4.1 Energy and macronutrients

4.1.1 Energy intake

Table 20 shows the daily energy intake reported in the 24-hour food record.

Table 20 Average daily energy intake (kJ/day) by

year and sex

n Mean SD Median

Year 1

Male 113 7,590 1,990 7,360

Female 121 6,841 2,145 6,332

Year 5

Male 648 8,523 2,768 8,345

Female 746 7,718 2602 7,423

Year 10

Male 404 11,142 4,589 10,237

Female 526 8,072 2,993 7,734

These energy intake data were compared with current recommendations for energy intake39. Current recommendations for estimated energy requirements are based on a factorial approach using a prediction of basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is then incremented to take into account the levels of habitual physical activity. Thus, for any age group there are a number of estimates of estimated energy requirements depending on how active the children are.

The mean energy intakes reported here for children in years 1 and 5, and males in Year 10 fall within the range of requirements listed for children categorised as having light to moderate levels of habitual physical activity. The reported mean energy intake for Year 10 females was about 15% lower than that recommended based on the requirements of 15-16-year-old females classifi ed as having light to moderate levels of habitual physical activity. These lower reported intakes by Year 10 females might refl ect a greater degree of under-reporting as detailed below.

40

4.1.2 Critical evaluation of energy intake

The quality of individual dietary records can be examined by comparing the value recorded for energy intake with a factored increment of the predicted Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)1 for an individual, often referred to as the ‘Goldberg cut off’ approach.40 This method is useful in providing an estimation of the degree of under-reporting of reported food intake. For this survey, the revised cut offs published by Black were used to evaluate the reported energy intakes.41 These cut offs allow the validation of energy intake at the individual level when the recording period is less than 14 days. When energy intake over a single day has been assessed, the lower 95% confi dence limit for an acceptable energy intake: predicted BMR ratios is 0.87. This approach has been used in similar surveys, such as the WA CAPANS 2003 survey.28

Using 0.87 as the cut off for an acceptable dietary record, the dietary records for 99% and 96% of Year 1 males and females, 93% and 94% of Year 5 males and females, and 86% and 82% of Year 10 males and females were valid.

When energy expenditure (EE) is measured by objective means, the ratio of energy expenditure to predicted BMR (EE:BMR) gives an estimate of physical activity level. For an individual this could range from 1.2 (bed rest) to 2.2 (vigorous activity).

1 Predicted BMR can be calculated from age, sex, weight and height.

Theoretically, energy intake is equal to energy expenditure plus growth in a healthy child who is growing normally. When self-reported intake using a variety of dietary assessment instruments has been compared against energy expenditure based on objective measurements, energy intake is typically under-reported by up to 25%.42 When reported energy intake (EI) is divided by predicted BMR, the result provides an estimate of the degree of accuracy of food intake reporting.

For comparisons with other survey data, the mean ratio of energy intake to predicted BMR (EI:BMR) is also reported. This measure provides an estimate of the extent of under-reporting of food intake. The means were 1.78 and 1.75 for Year 1 males and females, 1.58 and 1.59 for Year 5 males and females and 1.57 and 1.37 for Year 10 males and females. These compare with means of 1.75 for 10-15 year old boys in both the 1985 and 1995 national surveys, and 1.37 in 1985 and 1.53 in 1995 for girls aged 10-15 years.43 This suggests that the EI:BMR in this survey was within the same range observed nationally in 1985 and 1995 for girls, but was lower for boys. There may have been a greater degree of under-reporting amongst Year 5 and 10 boys in Queensland in 2006 compared with the earlier national surveys.

41

Table 21 Average daily macronutrient intakes of children in Year 1 by sex

Male (n = 113) Female (n = 121)

Mean SD Median Mean SD Median

Protein (g) 68.6 20.3 66.5 62.4 22.5 57.9

Protein (%) 15.8 3.3 15.5 15.8 3.4 15.2

Total Carbohydrate (g) 231.1 65.8 221.6 202.6 67.0 195.0

Total Carbohydrate (%) 52.2 6.6 51.9 51.2 7.4 51.5

Sugar (g) 116.0 49.3 110.1 100.2 45.2 91.7

Sugar (%) 25.4 8.3 24.2 24.4 6.7 23.9

Fat (g) 65.8 23.6 62.4 61.6 25.6 55.4

Fat (%) 32.0 6.1 32.4 33.0 6.7 32.0

Total Saturated Fat (g) 30.1 11.9 29.2 27.1 12.2 25.1

Total Saturated Fat (%) 14.6 3.7 15.3 14.5 3.8 14.2

Alcohol (g) 0 0 0 0 0 0

Alcohol (%) 0 0 0 0 0 0

Fibre (g) 18.2 6.5 17.5 15.9 6.5 14.8


Male (n = 648) Female (n = 746)


Protein (g) 80.6 33.5 76.5 73.3 30.8 69.1

Protein (%) 16.3 4.6 15.7 16.4 4.4 15.8



Sugar (g) 117.5 57.2 108.6 105.7 52.1 97.6

Sugar (%) 23.1 8.9 22.4 22.9 8.1 22.1

Total Fat (g) 77.4 33.0 72.5 68.8 30.9 64.9

Total Fat (%) 33.3 6.9 33.2 32.6 7.2 32.7

Saturated Fat (g) 34.9 16.1 32.3 30.7 15.0 28.3

Saturated Fat (%) 15.1 4.0 15.1 14.5 4.1 14.5

Alcohol (g) 0 0 0 0 0 0

Alcohol (%) 0 0 0 0 0 0

Fibre (g) 18.2 8.4 17.2 17.1 7.3 16.1


Male (n = 404) Female (n = 526)


Protein (g) 112.4 54.4 102.0 79.4 35.8 74.5

Protein (%) 17.4 4.8 16.9 17.1 5.6 16.5



Sugar (g) 147.2 86.7 127.8 110.3 58.7 102.4

Sugar (%) 21.9 8.4 21.6 22.8 9.0 22.9

Total Fat (g) 99.7 54.1 85.6 73.0 36.1 67.1

Total Fat (%) 32.5 8.0 32.4 33.1 8.3 32.9

Saturated Fat (g) 43.9 4.6 14.5 31.9 17.5 28.6

Saturated Fat (%) 14.3 4.6 14.5 14.4 4.6 14.3

Alcohol (g) 0.5 5.3 0 0 0 0

Alcohol (%) 0.2 1.7 0 0 0 0

Fibre (g) 23.4 12.1 20.8 18.4 9.3 17.2

4.1.3 Macronutrients

Tables 21-23 show the average daily intakes, reported in the 24-hour food record, of various

macronutrients by Year level and sex.

42

The mean weight of all macronutrients intakes increased with age, and boys consumed more macronutrients than girls at all ages. Mean protein intake increased from an average of 65g per day in Year 1, to 78g per day in Year 5, and 95g per day in Year 10 (though the difference between males and females in Year 10 was large). This is comparable with the 1995 National Nutrition Survey which reported intakes of 64g per day for children aged 4-7 and 82g per day for children aged 8-11, and 101g per day for boys aged 16-18 and 80g per day for girls aged 16-18. Carbohydrate and fat intake followed similar patterns of increase.

Boys and girls at all Year levels consumed approximately 50% of their energy intake from carbohydrate. This is comparable with the 1995

National Nutrition Survey data, which reported carbohydrate intakes of 52%, 50% and 49% for children aged 4-7, 8-11 and 16-18 respectively. The percentage of energy intake from sugar, which decreased from 25% to 22% from Year 1 to Year 10 was slightly lower than the 1995 National Nutrition Survey fi ndings, which reported intakes of 28% for children aged 4-7, 25% for children aged 8-11and 25% for children aged 16-18.

The mean intake of fat, expressed as a percentage of energy intake, ranged from 32% to 33% across all ages. The mean intake for percentage of energy intake from saturated fat ranged from 14% to 15% across the Year groups.

KEY POINTS

The mean reported daily energy intake was within • the expected levels for boys and girls in years 1 and 5, and boys in Year 10.

The mean reported daily energy intake was about • 15% lower than the expected level in Year 10 girls, which suggests a greater degree of under-reporting in this group.

On average, Queensland children aged 5-17 • consumed signifi cantly more protein than current recommended dietary intakes, but consumption was comparable to the 1995 National Nutrition Survey data.

On average, Queensland children aged 5-17 • consumed diets in which 50% of the energy intake was derived from carbohydrate. Nearly half of this (22-25% of energy) was derived from sugars.

On average, Queensland children aged 5-17, • consumed diets in which 32.5% of the energy intake was derived from fat, and 14.5% was derived from saturated fat. This compares to current NHMRC dietary guidelines recommending approximately 30% of energy intake as fat and no more than 10% coming from saturated fat as being desirable.

43

4.2 Micronutrients

Tables 24-26 show the average daily intakes of various micronutrients by Year level and sex.

Table 24 Average daily micronutrient intakes of children in Year 1 by sex

Male (n = 113) Female (n = 121)


Thiamin (mg) 1.6 0.9 1.5 1.6 0.9 1.4

Ribofl avin (mg) 2.2 1.0 2.1 2.0 1.2 1.7

Niacin (mg) 16.6 6.7 15.9 16.1 7.8 14.5

Niacin equivalents (mg) 30.2 9.8 28.6 28.5 10.9 26.4

Vitamin C (mg) 87.6 62.4 74.0 83.9 71.0 57.2

Calcium (mg) 909 414 911 779 352 758

Iron (mg) 10.2 3.9 9.6 9.0 3.1 8.7

Zinc (mg) 9.2 3.4 8.5 8.2 3.3 7.4

Potassium (mg) 2,491 892 2421 2,161 823 2,112


Male (n = 648) Female (n = 746)


Thiamin (mg) 1.8 0.9 1.6 1.7 1.3 1.4

Ribofl avin (mg) 2.4 1.2 2.2 2.1 1.5 1.9

Niacin (mg) 20.1 9.3 18.9 18.5 10.6 16.5


Vitamin C (mg) 100.5 88.3 77.7 104.4 97.8 74.0

Calcium (mg) 916 457 858 815 437 735

Iron (mg) 12.1 4.9 11.4 10.7 4.4 10.1

Zinc (mg) 10.7 5.2 9.8 9.8 4.8 9.0

Potassium (mg) 2,669 1,066 2,624 2,483 1,026 2,330


Male (n = 404) Female (n = 526)


Thiamin (mg) 2.4 1.6 2.1 1.6 0.9 1.5

Ribofl avin (mg) 3.0 1.9 2.6 2.0 1.3 1.8

Niacin (mg) 27.6 15.0 23.4 19.3 11.1 17.5


Vitamin C (mg) 120.5 130.0 83.0 111.8 108.5 82.9

Calcium (mg) 1135 716 997 838 491 782

Iron (mg) 16.5 8.0 15.1 11.4 5.2 10.7

Zinc (mg) 15.1 8.3 13.5 10.5 5.3 9.7

Potassium (mg) 3,468 1,723 3,050 2,668 1,206 2,509

Micronutrient intakes were compared with the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) recommended for each micronutrient.39 The EAR is the daily nutrient level estimated to meet the requirements of half of healthy individuals in a particular age, stage or sex. The EAR is used to estimate the prevalence of inadequate intakes within a group or population.

Table 22 shows the percentage of the study sample that failed to meet the micronutrient EAR for children of that age.

The micronutrient intakes for this comparison were “adjusted” intakes. It is well documented and accepted that one day’s food record may not represent “usual”

44

Table 27 Percentage of children failing to meet the micronutrient EAR by year and sex

Thiamin Ribofl avin Niacin Vitamin C Calcium Iron Zinc

Year 1

Male 0 0 0 0 2.7 0 0

Female 0 0 0 0 6.6 0 0

Year 5

Male 0 0 0 1.2 43.3 0.9 0.5

Female 0 0 0 0.7 55.8 0.4 0.1

Year 10

Male 0 0 0 0 50.7 0.0 0.0

Female 1.0 1.0 0 0 87.3 11.4 1.3

# These data have been calculated on adjusted food intake values which takes in to account the fact that the data were from one day food records.

– Values are the percentage of children not achieving the EAR for each vitamin or mineral according to age and sex.

KEY POINTS

On the day of the survey: Almost one in ten Year 5 girls and more than one •

in four Year 10 girls had diets inadequate in iron. About one in twenty Year 1 boys and girls and •

about half of all children in Year 5 and Year 10 had diets inadequate in calcium.

Six out of every seven Year 10 girls had diets that • were inadequate in calcium.

Diets inadequate in calcium were more common • amongst girls than boys. Almost one-quarter of Year 1 girls, over a half of Year 5 girls and almost three-quarters of Year 10 girls had inadequate calcium intake.

One in ten Year 10 girls had diets inadequate in • iron.

Higher proportions of inadequate micronutrient • intakes were observed in Year 10 girls. These lower reported intakes by Year 10 girls might refl ect a greater degree of under-reporting, as previously described.

food intake. This fact can at least partially be addressed if information is known relating to the day to day variation in food records is completed and analysed. Thus information is available on within subject as well as between subject variation in food intake. Knowing

this information allowed a new “adjusted” value for all micronutrients to be calculated for the individuals taking part in the survey. This process is described in detail elsewhere 36, but a brief summary of the analysis is provided in Appendix VII.

Higher proportions of inadequate micronutrient intakes were observed in Year 10 girls. The two micronutrients of concern for Year 10 girls were calcium and iron: with over four fi fths consuming insuffi cient calcium and one in 10 consuming insuffi cient iron. Calcium intakes were

also a concern for both boys and girls in Year 5 and Year 10 boys, with half of the children not drinking or eating enough calcium. Children in Year 1 had diets that met most of the micronutrient requirements.

45

Table 28 Percentage (%) of males and females consuming foods of selected major food categories by year

group and sex


n=

Male

(113)

Female

(121)

Male

(648)

Female

(746)

Male

(404)

Female

(526)

Non-alcoholic beverages 64 72 62 63 70 66

Cereals and cereal products 100 100 98 98 99 95

Cereal-based products and dishes 82 74 77 79 73 72

Fats and oils 72 73 53 53 42 44

Fish and seafood products and dishes 14 12 10 10 6 8

Fruit products and dishes 79 84 63 70 55 61

Egg products 15 13 9 9 13 13

Meat, poultry and game products and dishes 80 83 77 79 80 78

Milk products and dishes 98 96 95 94 90 88

Soups 3 4 4 4 6 4

Seed and nut products and dishes 17 19 16 12 11 11

Savoury sauces and condiments 35 31 33 34 38 37

Vegetable products and dishes 71 75 70 74 67 81

Legume and pulse products and dishes 3 4 3 3 5 4

Snack foods 38 27 28 31 27 26

Sugar products and dishes 61 53 52 53 46 38

Confectionery and health bars 46 36 43 47 41 50

Miscellaneous 48 47 39 39 30 39

Table 29 Mean daily intake (g) of selected major food categories of males and females for those who

consumed each food group, by year and sex


n=

Male

(113)

Female

(121)

Male

(648)

Female

(746)

Male

(404)

Female

(526)




Fats and oils 8 8 8 7 11 9



Egg products 48 79 76 60 72 86



Soups 238 224 444 375 510 469





Snack foods 26 31 49 36 55 43




4.3 Food categories

Consumption of the major food categories, such as cereals and cereal products, meat products, egg products etc., used in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey 36 were also identifi ed from the 24- hour

food record. Table 28 shows the percentage of children who consumed foods from 18 food categories during the study. Details explaining the food categories are in Appendix I.

46

Nearly half of the boys in Year 10 did not consume fruit products and dishes, and one in three did not consume vegetable products or dishes on the day of the survey. Reported intakes for Year 10 girls were similar, with four out of 10 not consuming fruit products or dishes, and one in 5 not consuming vegetable dishes or products on day of the survey. This contrasts with reported intakes for Year 1 in which approximately three-quarters of boys and girls consumed vegetable products and dishes and four out of fi ve consumed fruit products and dishes on the day of the survey.

Dairy products and cereals were consumed by nine out of every 10 children.

Tables 29 and 30 show the mean weight (g) and median weight (g) of consumption of these food categories for males and females. It should be noted that these data are the mean intake of only those children who consumed food in these categories during the 24-hour recording period. These data should be considered in the context of data presented in Table 28. For example, for girls in Year 5 the mean consumption of soup was 375 g. However, only 4% of the girls in Year 5 consumed soup during the measurement period.

Table 31 shows the mean consumption of the various food categories across the entire sample, so for example, the mean consumption of soup across the entire sample of the 746 girls in Year 5 was 15.0g.

For comparison with the recommended intakes from core food groups38 (page 38), an approximate estimate can be derived using the following assumptions:

an average serve of fruit weighs 150g and that • the food group ‘fruit products and dishes’ is predominantly fruit an average serve of vegetables weighs 75g and that • the ‘vegetable products and dishes’ food group is predominantly vegetables

One serve of milk approximates 250g, one serve • of yoghurt 200g and one serve of cheese 40g and therefore it is diffi cult to estimate the number of dairy serves that children were consuming. Estimates are based on a conservative serve size of 200g,

Table 30 Median daily intake (g) of selected major food categories of males and females for those who

consumed each food group, by year and sex


n=

Male

(113)

Female

(121)

Male

(648)

Female

(746)

Male

(404)

Female

(526)







Egg products 50 64 50 50 50 60



Soups 167 252 505 379 500 379





Snack foods 22 25 20 25 30 29




47

Table 31 Mean daily intake (g) of selected major food categories across the entire sample by year and sex


n=

Male

(113)

Female

(121)

Male

(648)

Female

(746)

Male

(404)

Female

(526)







Egg products 7 10 7 5 9 11



Soups 7 9 18 15 31 19





Snack foods 10 8 14 11 15 11




For the sample population as a whole, reported consumption of fruit products and dishes decreased with age. Using the assumptions stated earlier relating to weights of average serves, mean intakes approximated to just over one serve of fruit per day for Year 1 children and just under one serve a day for years 5 and 10 children. Likewise, for reported consumption of vegetable products and dishes, mean intakes approximated to one and a half serves in Year 1 children, nearly 2 serves in Year 5 children and just under two and a half serves in Year 10 children. Consumption of legume and pulse product and dishes was negligible.

Consumption of milk and milk products, for the sample population as a whole, increased with age in boys, but not for girls. A proxy of 200g for a serve, would suggest that whilst the average Year 1 and Year 5 boy is eating the recommended dairy serves, the average Year 10 boy and the average Year 1, Year 5 and Year 10 girl is eating insuffi cient milk products.

Non alcoholic beverages (fruit drinks, soft drink, cordial, coffee and tea) were also prominent in the reported intakes across the sample population. On average Year 1 children consumed 250ml, and this increased to 350ml in Year 10 girls and 500ml in Year 10 boys.

KEY POINTS

On the day of the survey: on average, Year 1 children met and Year •

5 children were close to meeting, the recommended fruit intake of one serve per day

on average, Year 10 children consumed less • than a third of the recommended intake of three serves of fruit per day

on average, Year 1 children ate less than a half, • Year 5 children ate less than two thirds and Year 10 children ate less than three quarters of the serves of vegetables recommended for their age groups

on average, Year 10 girls only consumed just over • half the recommended intake of milk and milk products

low intakes of milk products are refl ected by the • large proportion of children, particularly Year 10 girls, with inadequate calcium intakes.

48

4.4 Consumption of foods of interest from the 24-hour food record

From the 24-hour food record, consumption of one serve or more of fruit, one serve or more of vegetables, take-away food*, dietary supplements and various

types of beverages were extracted. Tables 32 and 33 present data on the consumption of these foods and beverages.

Table 32 Percentage of study population consuming one serve or more of fruit and vegetables, take-away

food and dietary supplements on the day of the food record

n One or more serve of

fruit

One or more serve of

vegetables

Take-away food* Supplements

Year 1

Male 113 70.5 49.5 20.3 5.1

Female 121 65.7 39.6 13.6 9.8

Year 5

Male 648 55.7 46.0 21.1 4.4

Female 746 59.3 51.5 19.3 3.3

Year 10

Male 404 46.7 48.0 26.3 3.2

Female 526 56.2 58.6 22.8 1.9

* For the 24-hour food record, take-away food was defi ned as meals or snacks such as burgers, pizza, chicken or chips from places like McDonalds, Hungry Jacks, KFC, Pizza Hut, Red Rooster or local take away food places. It also included pies, sausage rolls, and fi sh and chips, as well as items bought hot from supermarkets etc. It did not include sushi, take away Asian foods or salads, sandwiches or rolls.

Overall, 40% of the participants consumed less than one serve of fruit on the day of the 24-hour food record. Comparison with recommended fruit intake (page 38) indicates that only two-thirds of Year 1 and just over half of Year 5 boys and girls met the recommended intake of at least one serve of fruit per day. Year 10 fruit consumption, as recorded above, cannot be compared with recommendations (since requirements for Year 10 children are three serves per day).

Approximately half of all children consumed less than one serve of vegetables on the day of the survey.

Take-away food was consumed by about 20% of all participants and was highest in Year 10 children, with almost one-quarter consuming take-away food on the day of the survey.

Almost 10% of Year 1 girls and 5% of Year 1 boys consumed dietary supplements on the day of the survey. Use of supplements declined with age.

Table 33 presents the percentage of children recording consumption of each specifi ed beverage.

Consumption of both non-diet and diet soft drinks increased with age, and more boys than girls consumed non-diet soft drinks on the day of the survey. Soft drinks (non diet and diet) were consumed by a third of Year 10 boys and a quarter of Year 10 girls.

Table 33 Percentage of study population consuming soft drinks and sports and energy drinks on the day of the food record

n Non-diet

soft

drinks

Diet soft

drinks

Sports

drinks

Energy

drinks

Year 1

Male 113 10.5 1.0 0 0

Female 121 11.5 3.9 0.9 0

Year 5

Male 648 16.9 3.4 1.5 0.2

Female 746 13.0 3.8 0.4 0.1

Year 10

Male 404 28.4 6.3 7.0 0.4

Female 526 19.2 5.1 2.2 1.1

Whilst consumption of sports and energy drinks was generally low, one in 13 Year 10 boys drank a sports drink on the day of the survey.

Alcohol intake was also recorded. The only recorded consumption was in Year 10 boys, of whom 1.6% reported drinking alcohol on the day of the survey.

49

KEY POINTS

On the day of the survey: approximately two-thirds of Year 1 and •

just over half of Year 5 boys and girls met recommendations for fruit consumption

half of Queensland 5-17-year-olds had less than • one serve of vegetables

approximately 1 in 5 of Queensland 5-17-year-olds • had take-away food

one in 10 Year 1 boys and one in six Year 1 girls • consumed soft drink and this increased to one in three Year 10 boys and one in four Year 10 girls.

Table 34 Frequency of reported fruit consumption in the previous 12 months

n Don’t eat fruit 1 serve or less

per day

2 serves per day 3 serves per day 4 serves or more

per day

Year 1

Male 471 1.8 36.8 44.4 14.3 2.7

Female 466 1.6 39.0 43.7 11.9 3.8

Year 5

Male 612 3.0 47.1 35.4 9.8 4.7

Female 703 1.2 38.7 43.6 11.7 4.8

Year 10

Male 412 4.7 44.0 33.6 12.8 4.9

Female 526 3.4 40.4 39.1 13.7 3.4

Values are the percentage of children in each category according to year level and sex.

Table 35 Frequency of reported vegetable consumption in the previous 12 months

n Don’t eat

vegetables

1 serve or less

per day

2 serves

per day

3 serves

per day

4 serves

per day

5 serves

per day

6 serves or

more per day

Year 1

Male 470 3.1 46.6 26.6 15.9 6.6 1.0 0.3

Female 466 2.1 46.0 34.2 11.6 5.4 0.6 0

Year 5

Male 611 2.4 32.2 29.2 22.3 9.6 2.9 1.3

Female 703 1.4 33.7 31.6 19.7 7.6 4.1 1.9

Year 10

Male 413 1.7 25.3 26.0 23.5 15.1 5.6 2.8

Female 526 0.7 26.3 28.7 21.9 15.6 5.0 1.7

Values are the percentage of children who ate vegetables in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

4.5 Food habits

From the food frequency questionnaire, key dietary habits and frequency of consumption of specifi c meals and foods of interest consumed over the previous 12 months, were assessed. These included:

fruit and vegetable• breakfast• evening meal with parents• evening meal while watching television• fast food• milk• soft drinks (diet and non-diet)• energy drinks• sports drinks.•

4.5.1 Fruit and vegetables

Self-reported usual intake of fruit and vegetables over the year before the survey was assessed by two short questions. A serve of fruit was described as a medium piece of fruit, two small pieces of fruit or one cup of diced pieces. A serve of vegetables was described as half a cup of cooked vegetables or one cup of salad vegetables. Table 34 gives the frequency of consumption of fruits and Table 35 the frequency of consumption of vegetables.

50

The data was compared to the national recommendations shown on page 38. On average, 60% of Year 1 and Year 5 children reported regularly consuming two pieces of fruit or more per day, thus exceeding the minimum recommendations for fruit consumption. In contrast, only 1 in 6 Year 10 boys and girls reported regularly consuming the recommended amount of fruit (three serves/day).

The percentage of children regularly consuming the recommended amount of vegetables for their age declined with age. Just over half of Year 1 children reported regularly consuming the recommended amount of vegetables or more (at least two serves/day) for their age group. In Year 5 children, just over a third reported regularly consuming the recommended amount of vegetables or more (three serves/day). In Year 10, only 23.5% of boys and 22.3% of girls reported regularly consuming the recommended amount of vegetables (a minimum of four 4 serves/day). 4.5.2 Meal habits

Breakfast The children were asked to record how often they ate breakfast over the past year.

Table 36 Reported breakfast consumption in the previous 12 months

n Rarely or Never 1-2 days per

week

3-4 days per

week

5-6 days per

week

Every day

Year 1

Male 471 0 0.4 0.6 4.2 94.8

Female 464 0.1 0.9 1.6 6.5 90.9

Year 5

Male 611 1.0 0.6 3.3 3.8 91.2

Female 704 1.1 2.3 4.1 5.8 86.6

Year 10

Male 412 4.8 3.8 5.8 12.6 72.8

Female 525 11.3 8.9 10.6 15.5 53.8

Values are the percentage of children who ate breakfast in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

A high percentage of children in Years 1 and 5 reported eating breakfast every day. The proportion who ate breakfast daily declined steadily with age from more than nine in ten children in Year 1, just under nine in ten children in Year 5, and on average six in ten children in Year 10. Girls in Year 10 reported eating breakfast the least: only just over half of

them had breakfast every day and more than one in 10 had breakfast rarely or never.

The children were also asked about the usual type of breakfast cereal eaten over the previous 12 months and the frequency with which they had prepared (or helped prepare) their breakfast.

51

Evening meal practices

The children were asked to record the frequency with which they ate their evening meal a) while watching the television and

b) with the family (at least one parent). They were also asked how often they helped in the preparation of evening meals.

Table 37 Reported usual type of breakfast cereal consumption in the previous 12 months

n Did

not eat

cereal

Porridge Plain

wheat

fl akes/

biscuit/

puffed

wheat

Plain

corn

& rice

based

cereals

Plain

bran

based

cereals

Cereals

with

added

sugar/

fl avour

Cereals

(including

muesli)

with

added

fruit and/

or nuts

Breakfast

bars

Liquid

breakfast

More

than

1

Year 1

Male 471 0.9 5.6 40.3 12.4 0.3 17.4 4.8 0 0 18.3

Female 465 1.8 7.8 33.0 15.1 0.3 16.6 7.9 0.4 0 17.1

Year 5

Male 612 2.5 7.2 34.8 16.0 0.5 21.8 9.1 0.1 0.3 7.7

Female 766 6.0 8.0 30.1 18.4 0.8 20.5 8.4 0.6 0.5 6.7

Year 10

Male 414 11.6 4.5 31.7 11.7 0.9 16.7 13.4 0.2 0.3 9.1

Female 524 21.6 7.1 15.8 15.3 1.8 14.1 19.7 0 1.7 2.9

The most popular choice of breakfast cereal in all ages and in both sexes were plain wheat fl akes/ biscuit/ puffed wheat cereals. These cereals were reported as being consumed most often by between 15% to 40%

of children. Cereals with added sugar/fl avour were reported as being consumed by about 15% to 20% of children. One in fi ve girls in Year 10 reported not consuming breakfast cereals at all.

As children got older the more likely it was that they reported making their own breakfasts or helping to prepare the own breakfast. One in fi ve Year 1 children

did this on most days of the week and almost two in three of Year 10 children.

Table 38 Reported frequency with which the child prepared, or helped prepare, their own breakfast over the

previous 12 months

n Rarely or never Irregularly 1-4 days/week 5-7 days per week

Year 1

Male 470 34.6 10.0 35.2 20.2

Female 464 31.8 12.5 35.0 20.7

Year 5

Male 611 17.5 10.7 25.2 46.6

Female 705 14.8 9.3 29.8 46.1

Year 10

Male 410 12.4 7.3 17.0 63.3

Female 523 21.1 7.3 17.9 53.7

52

Table 39 Reported frequency of eating evening meal while watching TV in the previous 12 months

n Rarely or Never Irregularly 1-4 times per week 5-7 times per week

Year 1

Male 469 48.9 5.7 28.4 17.0

Female 464 46.3 5.7 30.6 17.4

Year 5

Male 610 37.4 8.6 33.8 20.2

Female 701 37.3 9.9 34.6 18.1

Year 10

Male 414 31.6 4.5 31.3 32.6

Female 523 31.8 6.0 33.7 28.5

Values are the percentage of children who ate the evening meal while watching television in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

Overall, about one-half to two-thirds of all participants ate the evening meal while watching television at least once a week. The percentage of children who ate the evening meal while watching television on most days (5-7 days/week) increased with age from one in six

Year 1 children to three in ten Year 10 children. A fairly constant percentage (about one third) of children ate the evening meal while watching television on some days (1-4 days/week).

Table 40 Reported frequency of eating evening meal with family in the previous 12 months

n Rarely or Never Irregularly 1-4 times per

week

5-7 times per

week

Irregularly

Year 1

Male 470 0.6 2.8 10.1 85.9 2.8

Female 465 1.2 3.5 10.7 84.5 3.5

Year 5

Male 611 2.9 4.7 7.9 84.6 4.7

Female 702 3.3 4.5 8.7 83.5 4.5

Year 10

Male 414 8.4 4.9 16.5 70.2 4.9

Female 523 7.3 4.3 21.4 67.0 4.3

Values are the percentage of children who ate the evening meal with family (including at least one parent) in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

In years 1 and 5, a high percentage of children, on average fi ve out of every six, ate the evening meal with their family fi ve or more times a week. Fewer Year 10 children ate the evening meal with their family fi ve or

more times a week; 70.2% of boys and 67.0% of girls. Few Year 1 and 5 children rarely or never ate their evening meal with the family and less than 10% of Year 10 children rarely or never ate the family meal with family.

Table 41 Reported frequency with which child helped prepare the family evening meal over the past

12 months

n Rarely or never Irregularly 1-4 days/week 5-7 days per week

Year 1

Male 469 59.1 12.3 26.9 1.8

Female 464 45.0 20.3 31.2 3.5

Year 5

Male 608 53.0 13.2 29.5 4.2

Female 702 35.5 15.1 41.7 7.7

Year 10

Male 414 41.6 6.2 45.9 6.2

Female 524 36.2 7.4 47.4 9.0

The percentage of children who regularly helped prepare the family meal on one day of the week or more increased with age, from about a third of Years 1 and 5 children to almost half of Year 10 children.

The number of children not involved with meal preparation decreased with age, with only two in fi ve Year 10 children reporting helping rarely or never.

53

Consumption of fast foodFast food was described as meals or snacks from fast-food chains, and several examples

of fast-food chains were listed for the children.

Table 42 Reported frequency of consuming ‘fast food’ in the previous 12 months

n Never Once per fortnight

or less

Once per week 2-4 times per

week

5-7 times per

week

Year 1

Male 469 3.4 66.3 27.1 3.2 0

Female 464 4.5 57.6 35.3 2.3 0.2

Year 5

Male 612 6.5 63.5 26.7 3.3 1

Female 703 5.3 61.3 30.8 2.5 0.1

Year 10

Male 414 4.2 56.2 30.8 6.8 1.9

Female 523 13.7 59.3 21.4 5.2 0.4

Values are the percentage of children who consumed fast food in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

More than one in ten Year 10 girls reported that they never ate fast food. Around three in fi ve children in Year 1 and Year 5 reported eating fast food once per fortnight or less. Overall, about one-third of participants consumed fast

food at least once per week, but frequency of consumption was highest in Year 10 boys, with about one in ten reporting fast food 2-4 times a week or more.

4.5.3 Beverages

Consumption of milk

Table 43 Type of milk consumed in the previous 12 months

n Don’t drink

milk

Whole milk Low or

reduced-fat

milk

Skim milk Soy milk Other More than 1

type

Year 1

Male 471 1.9 74.2 15.4 1.6 1.5 4.6 0.8

Female 466 2.0 73.5 17.4 1.8 1.4 3.0 1.0

Year 5

Male 611 0.7 67.6 19.1 5.0 2.1 4.2 1.3

Female 704 3.8 62.1 18.8 6.5 1.4 6.4 1.1

Year 10

Male 414 2.2 67.6 17.1 6.4 2.1 3.3 1.2

Female 521 6.4 56.3 22.2 10.0 1.0 2.9 1.2

Values are the percentage of children who consumed milk in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

On average, more than 95% of all children drank milk. In Years 5 and 10, more girls than boys reported not drinking any type of milk. Whilst current guidelines recommend two to three serves of dairy intake, including milk, to promote calcium intake, it is recommended that children over 2 years of age should be encouraged to choose reduced-fat varieties. Whole milk was the predominant milk of choice

by most children in this survey, though there was a clear trend for older children to switch to the low or reduced fat milks. Whilst three-quarters of Year 1 children consumed whole milk, this dropped to just over half of Year 10 children and whilst one in six Year 1 children consumed low or reduced-fat milk, this increased to one in fi ve of Year 10 children.

54

Consumption of soft drinks

Table 44 Frequency of reported non-diet soft drink consumption in the previous 12 months

n Never ≤ 1 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day > 2 per day

Year 1

Male 449 45.7 23.9 18.6 8.2 1.4 1.5 0.6

Female 456 40.5 21.4 21.5 12.4 1.0 2.5 0.5

Year 5

Male 600 30.4 28.8 22.3 13.7 1.9 1.8 0.9

Female 693 30.6 25.8 22.8 14.5 2.0 2.9 1.4

Year 10

Male 410 11.3 17.3 27.7 26.6 7.9 5.2 4.1

Female 521 27.2 24.7 21.4 15.0 4.6 4.3 2.8

Values are the percentage of children who consumed non-diet soft drinks in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

Soft drink consumption increased with age. Three in ten Year 1 children reported drinking soft drink once a week or more and this rose to seven in ten of Year 10 boys and just under half of Year 10 girls. This trend is also refl ected in the number of children who reported never drinking soft drink. Whilst two in fi ve Year 1 children never drank soft drink, this dropped to only one in ten of Year 10 boys and just under three in ten Year 10 girls.

Soft drink consumption patterns were in general similar between boys and girls, apart from Year 10. One in four Year 10 girls and two in fi ve Year 10 boys reported consuming soft drink at least 2-4 times a week.

Consumption of diet soft drinks

Table 45 Frequency of reported diet soft drink consumption in the previous 12 months

n Never ≤ 1 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day >2 per day

Year 1

Male 439 77.9 7.9 7.7 4.9 0.7 0.7 0.3

Female 447 71.1 11.2 9.3 6.7 0.7 0.9 0.2

Year 5

Male 597 60.1 15.6 11.3 9.6 1.4 1.3 0.5

Female 690 60.1 17.4 10.7 8.2 1.4 1.7 0.4

Year 10

Male 411 53.8 14.8 16.9 9.6 2.8 1.6 0.7

Female 520 50.5 18.9 17.2 8.5 1.2 2.8 0.9

Values are the percentage of children who consumed diet soft drinks in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

Children reported consuming diet soft drink less frequently than regular soft drink. As with soft drink consumption, consumption of diet soft drink increased with age. One in six Year 1 children reported drinking diet soft drink once a week or more and this rose to approximately one in four of Year 10 children. This trend is also refl ected in the number of children who reported never drinking diet soft drink. Just under three quarters of Year 1 children never

drank diet soft drink, and this was reduced to just over a half of Year 10 children.

Diet soft drink consumption patterns were similar between boys and girls at all Year levels.

55

Consumption of energy drinks

Table 46 Frequency of reported energy drink consumption in the previous 12 months

n Never ≤ 1 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day >2 per day

Year 1

Male 450 98.1 1.4 0.1 0.4 0 0 0

Female 452 99.1 0.9 0 0 0 0 0

Year 5

Male 599 92.3 6.6 0.8 0.1 0.1 0 0.1

Female 695 91.6 6.2 0.6 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.2

Year 10

Male 410 48.1 33.6 10.7 5.2 2.0 0.5 0

Female 522 64.6 24.4 6.1 2.4 2.4 0 0.2

Values are the percentage of children who consumed energy drinks in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

As with soft drink consumption, consumption of energy drinks increased with age, and there was a notable step-up in consumption for the older children. Less than 2%, or one in 50, children in years 1 and 5 reported drinking energy drinks once a week or more. However in Year 10, one in six boys and one in eight girls reported drinking energy drinks once a week or more.

This trend is also refl ected in the number of children who reported never drinking energy drinks. Over 90% of years 1 and 5 children never drank energy drinks, and this dropped to just over a half of Year 10 children.

Children drank sports drinks more frequently than energy drinks, but not as frequently as soft drinks. As with soft drinks and energy drinks, consumption of sports drinks increased with age and again there was a step-up in consumption for the older children of Year 10. Approximately one in 20 Year 1 children, one in ten Year 5 children and one in three Year 10 children reported consuming sports drinks once a week or more.

Sports drink consumption patterns were higher amongst boys than girls at each Year level. By Year 10, two out of fi ve of boys were consuming sports drinks once a week or more, compared to one in fi ve girls.

Consumption of sports drinks

Table 47 Frequency of reported sports drink consumption in the previous 12 months

n Never ≤1 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day > 2 per day

Year 1

Male 454 77.8 17.9 2.8 1.5 0 0 0

Female 456 87.1 11.1 1.2 0.4 0 0.1 0

Year 5

Male 600 47.8 40.0 9.0 2.4 0.6 0 0.1

Female 698 61.5 30.3 5.6 2.0 0.1 0 0.5

Year 10

Male 411 17.1 39.5 21.1 16.3 3.2 1.5 1.3

Female 523 35.8 41.9 14.3 5.1 2.0 0.7 0.3

Values are the percentage of children who consumed sports drinks in each frequency category according to year level and sex.

56

KEY POINTS

Fruit and vegetables- over the past year: On average, three in fi ve Year 1 and Year 5 •

children reported consuming two pieces of fruit or more per day, thus exceeding their minimum daily recommendations for fruit consumption.

Only 17% of Year 10 children reported consuming • the recommended amount of fruit for their age (3 serves/day).

On average a half of Year 1 children, a third of • Year 5 children and just over a fi fth of Year 10 children reported consuming the recommended amount of vegetables for their age.

Meal habits- over the past year: Over 90% of children in Years 1 and 5 ate •

breakfast every day, however this dropped to three quarters of Year 10 boys and just over half of Year 10 girls.

A high percentage of children, on average fi ve out • of every six Year 1 and 5 children and two in three Year 10 children, ate the evening meal with their family fi ve or more times a week.

Approximately one-half to two-thirds of all • children ate their evening meal in front of the television at least once per week. The percentage of children who ate the evening meal while watching television on most days (5-7 days/week) increased with age from one in six Year 1 children to three in ten Year 10 children.

About one-third of children in all Year levels • reported consuming fast food at least once per week.

Beverages- over the past year: On average, more than 95% of all children drank •

milk. Year 10 girls were notable with one in 15 girls not drinking any type of milk.

In contrast to the recommendation that children • aged over 2 years should choose low fat milk, most children drank whole milk. Only one in fi ve of Year 1 children reported drinking low fat milk, and this increased to one in three amongst Year 10 girls.

Soft drink consumption increased with age. Three • in ten Year 1 children reported drinking soft drink once a week or more and this rose to seven in ten of Year 10 boys and just under half of Year 10 girls.

As with soft drink consumption, consumption • of diet soft drink also increased with age. One in six Year 1 children reported drinking diet soft drink once a week or more and this rose to approximately one in four Year 10 children.

Approximately, one in 20 Year 1 children, one • in ten Year 5 children and one in three Year 10 children reported consuming sports drinks once a week or more. Sports drink consumption patterns were higher amongst boys than girls at each Year level.

Energy drinks were consumed less than sports • drinks. Less than 2%, or one in 50, children in years 1 and 5 reported drinking energy drinks once a week or more. However in Year 10, one in six boys and one in eight girls reported drinking energy drinks once a week or more.

Throughout the analyses of children’s diets, no • consistent differences were observed between children in urban areas and children in rural areas.

57

Meat, chicken, fi sh, eggs

Table 48 Proportion of children consuming mince dishes (e.g. bolognaise sauce, rissoles, meatloaf)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 458 3.1 4.0 20.6 44.5 26.7 0.8 0 0.2

Female 455 5.9 2.4 16.7 52.8 21.2 0.7 0.3 0

Year 5 Male 604 4.0 7.9 20.2 45.1 21.5 0.8 0.5 0

Female 706 4.0 9.4 23.0 44.3 17.7 0.6 0.9 0

Year 10 Male 412 4.6 6.5 27.2 39.7 20.9 0.8 0.4 0

Female 521 5.2 10.0 28.2 37.6 17.3 1.5 0 0.1

Table 49 Proportion of children consuming mixed dishes with meat like beef, lamb, or pork (e.g. stir-fry,

casserole, Chinese)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 6.6 10.4 20.7 40.6 19.8 0.8 1.0 0

Female 459 8.8 8.9 25.3 38.5 16.4 1.3 0.5 0.2

Year 5 Male 604 8.1 11.6 22.8 34.7 20.7 1.5 0.7 0

Female 704 5.9 9.0 23.0 38.0 21.3 1.1 1.4 0.2

Year 10 Male 412 4.2 10.7 29.8 34.1 16.6 2.9 1.5 0.2

Female 523 7.2 12.8 27.3 29.7 19.9 2.1 1.5 0.3

Table 50 Proportion of children consuming mixed dishes with chicken, turkey, duck, (e.g. stir-fry,casserole,

Chinese)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 446 9.4 10.1 24.0 37.0 17.9 0.7 0.8 0

Female 453 10.5 11.2 23.4 35.4 17.5 1.2 0.5 0.2

Year 5 Male 600 9.1 14.2 21.7 34.2 19.3 0.7 0.8 0

Female 700 10.3 11.9 24.7 33.2 18.2 1.1 0.5 0

Year 10 Male 411 8.0 20.8 31.7 26.4 12.2 0.1 0.8 0

Female 522 8.5 16.8 28.0 31.6 12.9 1.8 0.4 0.1

4.6 All food and drink items from the food frequency questionnaire

More detailed information from the food frequency questionnaire relating to the frequency of consumption of various food items over the past year is shown in the following tables. The foods have been grouped by:

meat chicken, fi sh and eggs/ vegetarian meat • substitutesbeans and lentils• vegetables/ fruit•

bread and cereal foods• baked goods and snacks• sugar, spreads and dressings • dairy foods/ non-milk drinks.•

Data are also shown on supplement usage and past infant feeding practices.

58

Table 51 Proportion of children consuming roast, BBQ or steamed chicken, turkey, duck

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 444 4.3 12.3 34.4 40.9 8.0 0.1 0 0

Female 449 6.5 8.9 31.5 41.3 10.9 0.6 0.3 0

Year 5 Male 598 6.9 15.3 26.9 42.0 7.6 0.7 0.3 0.4

Female 700 6.9 17.8 33.4 33.7 7.1 0.9 0.3 0

Year 10 Male 410 6.6 16.9 37.9 30.1 7.6 0.5 0.3 0

Female 521 7.1 19.7 35.2 30.1 7.0 0.6 0.3 0

Table 52 Proportion of children consuming crumbed fried chicken, nuggets

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 443 8.7 27.7 39.3 19.1 4.8 0 0.3 0

Female 449 9.1 25.9 35.3 24.4 4.3 0.7 0.3 0

Year 5 Male 590 15.1 35.4 31.6 12.9 4.1 0.6 0.2 0.2

Female 696 13.7 33.9 30.4 18.2 2.8 0.4 0.7 0

Year 10 Male 408 13.3 41.0 28.5 14.4 2.0 0.5 0.2 0

Female 517 18.9 30.5 32.5 15.3 2.4 0.4 0 0

Table 53 Proportion of children consuming roast meat (e.g. beef, lamb, pork)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 441 4.3 23.2 39.3 30.0 3.1 0.2 0 0

Female 439 5.8 14.9 43.8 31.8 1.9 1.2 0.7 0

Year 5 Male 598 5.9 18.8 39.9 31.1 3.8 0.3 0.2 0

Female 692 6.9 21.2 39.1 28.1 3.6 0.7 0.3 0

Year 10 Male 408 4.3 14.7 39.2 31.2 7.6 0.9 2.1 0

Female 519 7.4 21.2 33.8 27.5 8.8 0.4 0.9 0.2

Table 54 Proportion of children consuming crumbed steak or chops

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 447 9.5 14.1 30.2 32.9 12.6 0.5 0.3 0

Female 443 11.4 7.7 24.4 39.1 16.6 0.6 0.3 0

Year 5 Male 598 7.5 13.9 27.2 36.2 14.1 0.8 0.3 0

Female 700 7.1 15.0 25.3 34.9 15.9 1.2 0.6 0

Year 10 Male 409 3.2 7.8 24.4 36.9 22.6 3.4 1.7 0

Female 522 11.5 12.3 24.6 28.1 18.9 2.6 1.5 0.5

Table 55 Proportion of children consuming sausages, frankfurters, cheerios

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 445 3.8 14.7 31.9 35.7 13.5 0.2 0.2 0

Female 448 5.0 10.9 32.7 39.7 10.4 1.0 0.3 0

Year 5 Male 598 5.0 14.7 33.5 36.1 8.6 1.8 0 0.2

Female 693 8.1 19.9 30.4 33.4 6.9 0.8 0.4 0.2

Year 10 Male 411 4.4 17.9 36.5 28.8 10.5 1.7 0.3 0

Female 523 10.5 21.8 35.4 25.7 6.4 0 0 0.1

59

Table 56 Proportion of children consuming bacon

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 448 9.7 23.9 38.1 21.8 5.6 0.7 0.2 0

Female 451 10.7 21.6 37.1 25.5 4.6 0.6 0 0

Year 5 Male 603 9.3 20.5 35.8 27.8 5.2 0.5 0.6 0.3

Female 703 9.5 22.1 34.7 24.6 7.6 1.1 0.2 0.3

Year 10 Male 412 6.6 12.7 42.9 26.5 8.8 1.4 0.8 0.4

Female 520 11.7 23.6 32.9 24.9 5.8 0.1 0.5 0.6

Table 57 Proportion of children consuming ham

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 7.2 14.9 17.7 20.0 31.3 5.1 3.0 0.8

Female 452 8.3 10.6 19.3 20.4 30.0 6.9 4.5 0.1

Year 5 Male 600 7.9 13.6 18.9 23.2 26.4 4.8 5.2 0.1

Female 701 12.8 9.3 20.1 19.3 27.4 4.1 6.1 0.8

Year 10 Male 409 7.4 11.2 24.8 23.6 19.7 5.5 6.5 1.3

Female 521 11.9 14.4 20.3 26.1 19.0 3.9 4.3 0.1

Table 58 Proportion of children consuming salami, luncheon meats (e.g. devon, pressed chicken)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 450 29.9 24.0 19.7 11.8 10.9 2.6 1.5 0.4

Female 450 30.1 21.0 17.6 12.2 14.7 1.9 2.5 0.1

Year 5 Male 603 23.0 26.3 17.6 15.0 12.4 1.7 3.6 0.3

Female 702 27.8 22.6 21.6 12.4 11.7 1.8 2.0 0

Year 10 Male 409 17.6 19.0 26.3 16.2 12.2 3.5 4.8 0.4

Female 523 22.2 25.0 23.5 9.9 11.7 2.5 4.3 1.0

Table 59 Proportion of children consuming liver including pate

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 94.3 3.9 1.1 0 0.3 0 0.4 0

Female 457 88.6 9.3 1.6 0.2 0.1 0.1 0 0

Year 5 Male 602 91.6 7.2 0.9 0.3 0 0 0 0

Female 706 91.0 6.0 2.4 0.1 0.1 0.3 0 0

Year 10 Male 412 85.8 11.6 2.0 0.3 0.3 0 0 0

Female 523 88.5 9.5 1.6 0.3 0.1 0 0 0

Table 60 Proportion of children consuming other offal (e.g. kidneys)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 94.0 5.3 0.1 0.6 0 0 0 0

Female 456 95.1 3.3 1.6 0 0 0 0 0

Year 5 Male 600 94.5 4.1 1.2 0.2 0 0 0 0

Female 703 93.7 3.9 1.8 0.2 0.1 0.3 0 0

Year 10 Male 411 90.0 6.9 1.6 0.6 0 0.5 0.4 0

Female 522 92.3 5.7 2.0 0 0 0 0 0

60

Table 61 Proportion of children consuming canned fi sh (e.g. tuna, salmon, sardines)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 456 37.6 18.4 20.7 14.8 6.8 0.8 0.8 0

Female 457 40.5 16.2 23.0 13.7 6.1 0.6 0 0

Year 5 Male 602 38.7 18.4 21.4 12.5 7.8 0.4 0.9 0

Female 706 38.1 17.8 22.7 12.9 7.0 0.7 0.5 0.2

Year 10 Male 413 40.7 21.8 21.2 8.7 6.5 0.8 0.3 0

Female 523 46.3 19.4 20.0 8.5 4.5 0.4 0.9 0

Table 62 Proportion of children consuming fi sh steamed, baked, grilled

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 444 22.1 23.4 30.2 17.9 5.5 0.4 0.4 0

Female 445 26.6 23.2 26.5 19.1 3.7 0.9 0 0

Year 5 Male 597 26.0 23.8 31.1 17.3 1.3 0.4 0.2 0

Female 699 27.7 25.6 26.0 16.3 3.1 0.6 0.5 0.2

Year 10 Male 412 18.8 28.0 33.5 16.5 2.3 0.6 0.2 0

Female 521 28.3 24.8 31.3 13.6 1.7 0.1 0.1 0.1

Table 63 Proportion of children consuming fi sh fried, battered, crumbed

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 10.4 24.7 43.4 19.3 1.9 0.2 0 0

Female 447 12.0 28.9 35.1 21.5 1.8 0.6 0.2 0

Year 5 Male 595 13.3 26.6 40.0 17.2 2.4 0.1 0.4 0

Female 703 16.9 28.7 37.1 15.5 1.2 0.5 0 0.2

Year 10 Male 411 11.8 30.7 40.1 14.2 2.1 0.9 0.2 0

Female 523 25.5 27.7 35.5 9.1 1.7 0 0 0.5

Table 64 Proportion of children consuming other seafood (e.g. prawns, oysters, calamari)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 452 37.1 33.8 24.8 3.3 0.9 0 0 0

Female 454 37.9 30.7 24.8 5.0 1.6 0 0 0

Year 5 Male 600 34.5 37.1 22.7 4.4 1.0 0.1 0 0.2

Female 705 37.5 34.2 23.8 3.3 0.5 0.3 0.1 0.3

Year 10 Male 413 28.9 35.2 26.0 7.4 1.9 0.6 0 0

Female 522 37.2 34.2 21.9 4.4 1.7 0.7 0 0

Table 65 Proportion of children consuming eggs or egg dishes

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 10.6 9.6 20.1 34.1 19.7 3.7 2.1 0.1

Female 454 7.8 8.9 18.8 32.4 26.0 3.0 3.0 0

Year 5 Male 601 8.5 10.9 20.4 34.7 22.4 1.2 1.7 0.1

Female 700 6.7 11.3 24.2 32.6 20.8 2.5 1.5 0.4

Year 10 Male 411 9.2 13.3 28.1 31.3 13.3 1.6 2.3 0.8

Female 520 10.9 11.9 28.9 30.5 13.4 2.7 1.4 0.4

61

Meat, chicken, fi sh and eggs are important sources of protein and, in the case of some meat, iron. Approximately half to two-thirds of the children were consuming such items at least once a week, with the proportion of children that never consumed these food items, on the whole, being low: around 3-10% in most cases. Processed foods (e.g. salami, luncheon meats ) were consumed by fewer children, with about a quarter of all children reporting that they never consumed these products.

Canned or steamed, baked or grilled fi sh was reported as being never consumed by between a quarter to a third of all children. Fried/battered or crumbed fi sh were consumed by more children, with only about 10% of children saying that they never consumed these items except for Year 10 girls in whom about 25% reported that they never consumed these foods. Consumption of offal, including pate, was rare, with over 90% of children in nearly all year and sex groups reporting no consumption.

Vegetarian meat substitutes

Table 66 Proportion of children consuming soy- based meat substitutes (e.g. TVP, soy burger)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 92.6 3.9 1.5 0.8 1.3 0 0 0

Female 454 95.2 3.0 0.6 1.0 0.2 0.1 0 0

Year 5 Male 601 89.8 5.1 2.8 1.3 0.7 0.1 0.2 0

Female 703 90.7 3.4 3.0 1.5 0.5 0.7 0.2 0

Year 10 Male 413 89.0 5.5 1.7 2.0 1.3 0.5 0 0

Female 523 89.7 5.4 1.7 1.5 1.5 0.2 0.1 0

Table 67 Proportion of children consuming nut-based meat substitutes (e.g. Nutolene™, Vegelinks™)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 96.0 1.6 0.7 1.0 0.6 0 0 0

Female 454 97.5 1.0 0.3 0.6 0.3 0 0.3 0

Year 5 Male 600 93.6 4.2 0.7 1.0 0.1 0.4 0 0

Female 705 93.3 2.7 1.6 1.2 0.6 0.4 0.3 0

Year 10 Male 412 92.5 4.0 1.0 1.4 0.7 0.5 0 0

Female 523 93.3 3.6 1.7 0.9 0.5 0 0.1 0

Soy based meat substitutes were not frequently consumed, with nine out of ten children never consuming them and approximately only 5% of all children consuming them more than once per month. Similarly, less than 5% of all children consumed nut based meat substitutes more than once per month.

Beans and lentils

Table 68 Proportion of children consuming soybean, tofu

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 443 89.7 6.4 2.4 1.0 0.4 0 0.2 0

Female 443 94.7 2.3 1.4 0.8 0.7 0 0 0

Year 5 Male 599 91.5 3.9 2.6 0.8 0.2 0.7 0.2 0

Female 702 91.7 4.8 1.8 1.0 0 0.2 0.5 0

Year 10 Male 411 90.3 5.7 2.0 1.7 0.3 0 0.1 0

Female 521 84.1 8.1 4.6 2.0 0.7 0.4 0.2 0

62

Table 69 Proportion of children consuming baked beans

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 36.0 17.7 24.3 15.1 6.1 0.5 0.3 0

Female 456 33.7 16.4 27.4 16.6 5.8 0 0.2 0

Year 5 Male 604 35.7 19.1 22.9 15.7 5.5 0.6 0.4 0.2

Female 706 41.5 19.4 24.6 10.0 3.7 0.3 0.3 0.2

Year 10 Male 412 32.3 26.4 23.0 13.0 3.4 1.0 0.8 0

Female 519 46.7 22.5 21.5 5.3 3.4 0.6 0 0

Table 70 Proportion of children consuming other beans/peas/lentils (e.g. kidney, borlotti, chickpeas, dhal,

split pea)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 48.9 15.9 18.1 6.6 8.0 1.4 1.1 0

Female 454 50.5 14.4 16.1 10.6 6.4 0.7 0.8 0.5

Year 5 Male 603 50.0 16.5 16.2 9.3 5.7 1.9 0.3 0

Female 704 45.8 16.2 17.9 9.6 7.0 1.9 1.4 0.2

Year 10 Male 410 32.3 20.8 18.4 10.1 13.0 2.6 2.6 0.1

Female 523 40.2 19.4 15.7 11.0 10.0 2.2 1.4 0.1

Beans/peas/lentils, including baked beans, were consumed by about 15 – 25% of all children at least once a week. Soybeans and/or tofu were consumed by few children with about 85% - 95% of all children reporting that they never consumed these foods.

Vegetables (fresh frozen, canned)

Table 71 Proportion of children consuming green/ mixed salad (e.g. lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, etc)

in a sandwich

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 457 31.4 11.7 14.8 15.3 18.8 2.6 4.5 0.9

Female 457 29.1 9.7 16.0 19.9 18.6 3.3 3.0 0.5

Year 5 Male 603 24.1 13.9 12.3 18.9 20.9 4.1 4.9 0.9

Female 704 15.4 11.2 16.7 20.6 22.6 4.7 8.2 0.6

Year 10 Male 413 8.3 11.0 25.3 32.7 15.4 4.3 3.0 0

Female 523 6.1 7.0 15.9 30.0 22.9 9.3 8.1 0.6

Table 72 Proportion of children consuming green/ mixed salad (e.g. lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, etc)

as a side salad

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 458 22.7 7.0 14.9 17.4 29.9 3.9 3.8 0.5

Female 452 18.5 9.3 11.8 20.3 31.3 5.1 3.0 0.6

Year 5 Male 602 18.5 11.7 13.2 18.7 27.5 5.5 4.1 0.8

Female 705 10.0 8.3 15.6 23.1 33.2 4.4 4.5 0.8

Year 10 Male 413 11.3 20.7 32.8 24.7 8.6 0.9 1.0 0

Female 522 14.2 18.3 27.3 26.7 10.1 2.6 0.5 0.3

63

Table 73 Proportion of children consuming stir-fried and mixed cooked vegetables

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 452 9.8 7.3 12.9 15.8 35.6 10.0 7.6 1.2

Female 456 10.1 5.9 11.9 20.1 32.8 11.9 7.3 0

Year 5 Male 599 9.2 7.8 13.0 18.2 28.7 12.8 9.5 0.7

Female 700 7.0 7.4 17.1 20.2 31.0 11.6 4.7 1.0

Year 10 Male 411 8.3 11.0 25.3 32.7 15.4 4.3 3.0 0

Female 522 6.1 7.0 15.9 30.0 22.9 9.3 8.1 0.6

Table 74 Proportion of children consuming mixed vegetables in a casserole or stew

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 448 13.3 12.7 23.2 29.3 18.5 1.8 1.3 0

Female 447 13.4 13.0 23.9 28.4 18.0 1.8 1.3 0.2

Year 5 Male 599 14.1 10.5 24.6 27.0 20.2 2.4 0.6 0.6

Female 697 14.2 16.7 26.1 22.7 17.3 2.0 0.8 0.2

Year 10 Male 405 11.3 20.7 32.8 24.7 8.6 0.9 1.0 0

Female 518 14.2 18.3 27.3 26.7 10.1 2.6 0.5 0.3

Table 75 Proportion of children consuming vegetable soup

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 440 40.1 28.2 23.1 6.0 1.7 0.5 0.4 0

Female 448 41.3 21.8 24.0 9.6 2.2 0.4 0.5 0.1

Year 5 Male 605 38.2 27.8 21.4 9.2 2.9 0.3 0.1 0

Female 703 35.2 28.2 24.7 8.3 1.8 1.1 0.3 0.3

Year 10 Male 409 29.8 30.8 26.2 8.1 4.0 0.7 0 0.5

Female 519 37.3 29.3 22.1 6.7 2.2 1.6 0.8 0

Table 76 Proportion of children consuming potato cooked without fat (e.g. boiled, mashed, dry baked)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 458 6.6 3.1 11.2 13.5 44.3 15.6 4.8 0.9

Female 461 3.1 4.0 8.5 17.3 46.8 13.2 7.1 0

Year 5 Male 603 4.3 4.5 10.4 20.3 41.4 14.1 4.3 0.6

Female 705 5.3 4.4 11.1 16.7 45.9 10.5 5.3 0.8

Year 10 Male 412 3.8 4.5 17.4 22.5 32.0 14.9 4.9 0

Female 522 3.5 5.2 13.3 16.3 38.8 13.2 9.4 0.4

Table 77 Proportion of children consuming potato cooked with fat (e.g. chips, French fries, gems, wedges,

roast)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 456 3.2 8.1 31.6 38.1 17.7 0.5 0.6 0.2

Female 457 2.7 6.7 30.4 40.7 17.6 1.4 0.5 0

Year 5 Male 603 5.3 14.5 28.4 33.3 16.7 0.8 1.1 0

Female 705 3.9 15.1 27.4 38.6 12.9 1.4 0.5 0.1

Year 10 Male 413 4.3 12.5 31.6 31.0 14.8 2.9 2.9 0

Female 521 4.6 15.4 29.7 32.2 14.1 2.1 1.2 0.7

64

Table 78 Proportion of children consuming carrots

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 456 5.6 3.5 4.3 9.1 42.1 22.4 12.3 0.8

Female 457 5.7 3.5 7.1 9.8 41.7 19.2 12.7 0.2

Year 5 Male 605 6.2 5.0 8.7 11.1 39.2 17.0 10.5 2.2

Female 701 4.9 5.1 7.1 13.9 42.3 14.3 11.3 1.0

Year 10 Male 412 5.1 4.6 11.4 22.1 29.2 18.0 8.6 1.0

Female 523 4.1 3.1 7.4 16.8 33.8 17.6 14.7 2.5

Table 79 Proportion of children consuming pumpkin

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 23.1 9.8 9.0 17.0 30.0 7.0 3.5 0.7

Female 454 18.5 6.5 13.8 21.9 25.9 8.8 4.3 0.3

Year 5 Male 597 23.3 8.7 14.6 19.1 22.4 7.9 3.7 0.3

Female 704 22.8 13.1 14.2 17.0 24.3 5.6 3.0 0

Year 10 Male 413 21.0 11.3 15.0 21.4 16.8 9.3 4.8 0.4

Female 522 23.0 10.0 16.2 14.2 22.1 8.6 5.7 0.2

Table 80 Proportion of children consuming sweet potatoes and other root vegetables

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 450 26.2 11.0 16.8 17.4 18.7 5.8 3.6 0.6

Female 453 21.2 13.4 18.9 18.9 20.9 4.2 0.3 0.3

Year 5 Male 602 26.8 14.1 14.1 17.5 19.5 4.8 0.4 0.4

Female 701 22.3 15.9 18.1 18.1 18.2 3.7 0 0.1

Year 10 Male 413 17.4 12.7 28.4 18.1 13.4 7.5 0 0

Female 521 21.9 8.4 17.0 17.8 21.4 7.6 0.2 0.2

Table 81 Proportion of children consuming green peas

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 20.3 7.6 8.1 12.5 33.4 11.6 5.9 0.6

Female 457 13.6 5.4 9.7 18.0 35.7 11.0 6.6 0

Year 5 Male 603 12.0 7.8 8.8 19.8 33.4 11.4 6.5 0.3

Female 698 16.0 6.9 13.2 17.2 31.3 9.1 6.3 0.1

Year 10 Male 412 9.6 4.8 13.6 22.7 26.4 15.1 7.9 0

Female 521 13.6 5.3 9.5 16.4 30.2 14.3 10.4 0.5

Table 82 Proportion of children consuming green beans

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 455 25.8 7.3 11.5 14.0 27.8 8.0 5.4 0.2

Female 456 18.0 9.0 13.5 16.5 28.9 8.9 5.2 0

Year 5 Male 601 22.3 10.4 11.6 15.1 29.1 6.8 4.7 0

Female 702 21.0 10.5 12.5 15.7 27.8 6.9 5.5 0

Year 10 Male 411 13.1 8.5 14.9 22.6 24.9 9.3 6.5 0

Female 521 15.6 7.4 15.3 16.9 26.3 11.3 6.6 0.7

65

Table 83 Proportion of children consuming silverbeet, spinach

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 53.6 16.3 15.4 7.6 5.9 1.2 0 0

Female 454 58.3 17.1 12.0 7.8 4.3 0.2 0.2 0

Year 5 Male 601 56.4 17.4 14.6 6.5 4.2 0.4 0.5 0

Female 701 55.7 17.2 17.0 6.1 2.6 0.5 0.7 0.2

Year 10 Male 414 53.0 19.5 19.0 6.5 1.9 0.1 0 0

Female 521 53.0 19.0 15.8 5.7 2.1 1.5 0.8 0.1

Table 84 Proportion of children consuming celery, asparagus, or bean sprouts

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 450 55.2 13.4 15.4 6.9 7.0 2.0 0.1 0

Female 453 52.8 15.3 15.1 9.7 6.0 1.3 0 0

Year 5 Male 599 49.0 18.8 17.8 7.3 5.5 0.8 0.5 0.3

Female 700 46.9 18.4 19.1 9.1 6.1 0 0.4 0

Year 10 Male 414 41.1 23.7 20.0 9.9 3.5 1.2 0.7 0

Female 522 34.7 21.4 25.1 10.2 5.2 2.0 1.3 0.1

Table 85 Proportion of children consuming broccoli

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 457 17.3 7.1 10.9 14.1 31.7 13.9 5.0 0

Female 454 13.5 6.5 12.5 11.8 39.1 10.3 6.4 0

Year 5 Male 600 13.3 9.6 8.7 20.4 34.0 8.3 5.4 0.4

Female 701 13.9 5.5 14.6 19.6 31.0 8.4 6.5 0.5

Year 10 Male 412 13.9 10.4 15.8 24.0 23.5 8.1 3.8 0.4

Female 522 15.0 6.1 12.3 22.8 25.2 11.8 6.2 0.7

Table 86 Proportion of children consuming caulifl ower

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 450 27.1 11.2 20.6 14.8 18.3 5.7 2.4 0

Female 448 25.0 11.1 16.4 13.3 23.7 7.0 3.5 0

Year 5 Male 599 22.9 14.0 15.7 18.9 21.6 4.2 2.6 0

Female 699 19.3 11.4 22.4 19.0 20.1 4.4 3.0 0.3

Year 10 Male 412 18.1 16.4 24.3 19.9 16.2 4.0 0.7 0.5

Female 521 18.9 12.8 17.7 19.7 19.0 6.5 5.1 0.2

Table 87 Proportion of children consuming brussels sprouts, cabbage, coleslaw, Asian greens

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 44.6 13.8 19.6 12.6 6.6 2.5 0.3 0

Female 454 36.9 16.8 19.6 14.6 9.4 1.8 1.0 0

Year 5 Male 598 39.6 11.7 20.8 15.0 10.1 1.4 1.2 0

Female 701 31.4 17.0 22.2 14.3 10.2 3.1 1.5 0.2

Year 10 Male 413 29.7 16.3 25.6 17.8 7.0 2.5 0.6 0.4

Female 521 30.5 14.1 24.9 16.0 9.2 3.2 2.0 0.2

66

Table 88 Proportion of children consuming zucchini, eggplant, squash

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 45.5 10.8 14.7 12.3 11.3 4.3 1.1 0

Female 450 41.6 12.1 18.5 13.2 11.8 1.8 0.8 0

Year 5 Male 598 43.3 17.2 12.2 13.2 11.7 1.1 1.1 0.3

Female 699 43.6 16.1 15.0 13.9 8.2 2.3 0.8 0.1

Year 10 Male 411 47.1 13.7 21.8 10.5 5.5 1.5 0 0

Female 520 49.4 17.0 14.9 9.2 5.7 2.2 1.3 0.2

Table 89 Proportion of children consuming lettuce, rocket, endive, other raw salad greens

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 450 26.4 9.6 14.0 22.4 19.8 4.8 2.2 0.8

Female 453 20.6 7.9 11.4 25.7 26.6 6.0 1.8 0.1

Year 5 Male 600 20.4 10.1 12.7 24.3 23.8 3.7 5.0 0.1

Female 701 15.0 6.5 15.9 23.1 27.6 6.3 5.0 0.7

Year 10 Male 413 11.8 4.7 21.4 25.1 23.6 7.1 6.3 0

Female 522 8.6 6.2 14.4 22.8 28.8 12.5 5.3 1.3

Table 90 Proportion of children consuming capsicum

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 447 44.2 11.9 12.7 14.5 12.4 2.3 1.7 0.3

Female 452 45.0 10.8 12.2 16.2 12.2 2.1 1.0 0.6

Year 5 Male 598 42.3 15.8 12.0 12.6 13.9 1.6 1.5 0.3

Female 699 39.8 11.5 15.3 13.1 14.7 3.8 1.7 0

Year 10 Male 413 30.7 13.0 19.7 19.9 11.1 4.6 1.0 0.1

Female 520 29.3 14.4 17.8 16.2 14.0 3.9 3.8 0.7

Table 91 Proportion of children consuming tomatoes including canned

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 17.4 5.2 12.0 21.5 28.8 10.5 3.8 0.8

Female 453 16.1 4.2 13.4 19.3 32.2 9.7 4.1 1.0

Year 5 Male 601 21.8 5.8 9.1 22.5 27.2 9.1 3.5 0.9

Female 698 19.0 5.9 15.2 18.6 26.3 9.5 4.7 0.7

Year 10 Male 414 18.6 6.0 13.9 22.4 26.2 7.4 5.5 0

Female 518 21.4 5.8 8.0 18.5 29.6 8.9 5.8 2.1

Table 92 Proportion of children consuming tomato products (e.g. dried, paste, sauce)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 448 11.8 6.8 15.3 23.3 29.0 9.1 4.0 0.7

Female 451 10.8 4.1 16.0 25.5 32.7 6.5 3.7 0.8

Year 5 Male 600 10.5 7.7 14.7 26.3 30.3 6.8 3.1 0.6

Female 700 11.3 5.3 21.8 27.8 24.5 5.6 2.9 0.7

Year 10 Male 413 10.2 8.5 21.9 25.6 24.0 6.8 2.9 0

Female 520 6.8 11.8 19.8 28.0 23.5 6.6 2.9 0.5

67

Table 93 Proportion of children consuming avocado

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 450 51.1 10.2 13.9 11.6 9.3 2.1 1.7 0

Female 455 50.0 12.2 12.5 11.4 11.0 2.3 0.3 0.3

Year 5 Male 599 55.3 10.9 14.0 8.3 9.9 1.0 0.6 0

Female 701 49.1 10.6 16.8 11.6 7.1 2.3 2.2 0.1

Year 10 Male 413 49.2 13.8 16.7 10.6 6.3 1.3 1.9 0.3

Female 519 42.2 9.7 16.2 14.4 10.0 4.8 2.7 0

Tabel 94 Proportion of children consuming onion or leeks

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 448 32.4 7.1 11.4 15.0 25.1 6.4 2.2 0.4

Female 449 37.6 9.0 11.4 15.5 18.0 5.9 1.7 1.0

Year 5 Male 599 28.4 8.4 12.5 16.3 23.9 7.3 2.9 0.3

Female 699 30.7 8.9 12.4 18.9 18.5 6.7 3.4 0.6

Year 10 Male 413 15.7 9.0 18.1 26.2 20.2 5.9 4.5 0.4

Female 520 24.3 9.4 14.0 22.1 20.2 5.2 4.3 0.3

Table 95 Proportion of children consuming sweetcorn, corn on the cob

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 448 13.7 9.7 22.2 22.3 25.9 5.0 1.3 0

Female 454 9.4 9.2 18.0 25.5 30.2 3.9 3.7 0.2

Year 5 Male 595 12.3 9.1 24.1 28.1 19.4 4.6 2.4 0

Female 698 9.2 11.3 25.3 23.9 21.4 5.3 3.3 0.3

Year 10 Male 413 12.0 14.1 27.8 24.5 14.7 3.4 3.1 0.5

Female 518 12.0 14.5 23.1 27.5 13.2 5.3 3.9 0.4

Table 96 Proportion of children consuming mushrooms

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 452 48.5 9.9 13.8 16.3 10.3 1.2 0 0

Female 454 46.6 13.9 13.1 11.4 12.8 1.9 0.2 0

Year 5 Male 598 47.0 11.2 15.6 15.3 9.4 1.1 0.2 0

Female 699 47.0 12.3 15.6 14.3 7.5 1.4 1.2 0.6

Year 10 Male 412 40.0 14.5 19.0 14.5 9.4 2.3 0.5 0

Female 522 43.5 11.3 14.8 15.1 9.6 3.2 2.2 0.3

Salad consumption, both in a sandwich and as a side salad, generally increased in regularity as children became older. For example, around 30% of Year 1 children reported “never” consuming salad in a sandwich, whilst this number fell to about 7% in Year 10 children. Close to 70% of all children (excluding Year 10 boys) reported consuming stir fried and mixed cooked vegetables at least once a week, with 10-15% reporting consumption as high as 5-6 times per week. Only 55% of Year 10 boys had a weekly consumption of stir-fried and/or mixed vegetables. One in three children received additional vegetables in stews and casseroles at least once a week.

Carrots were the most consumed vegetable with over 80% of children reporting consumption at least once a week and with at least a quarter of children reporting consumption 5-6 times per week. Boiled and baked potato was also common, with approximately 60% of all children reporting intakes of at least twice a week. Around 50-60% of children reported consuming potato cooked with fat (ie chips, French fries, gems, wedges or roast) at least once a week.

68

Rarely consumed vegetables included silverbeet, spinach, celery, zucchini, eggplant, squash, avocado and mushrooms, with over 40% of children reporting that they never consumed them at all.

Fruit (fresh, frozen, canned dried)

Table 97 Proportion of children consuming dried fruit- all types, (e.g. sultanas, prunes, apricots)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 17.3 18.6 24.5 14.5 15.5 4.4 4.9 0.4

Female 454 16.9 18.9 22.0 17.5 14.2 4.7 5.5 0.4

Year 5 Male 600 32.1 17.6 21.3 12.6 10.5 2.8 2.8 0.2

Female 699 25.8 21.9 22.0 12.0 11.1 1.9 4.5 0.7

Year 10 Male 412 17.7 19.8 26.1 20.7 6.9 4.3 4.1 0.4

Female 519 19.6 18.5 25.0 16.5 10.7 4.1 5.0 0.6

Table 98 Proportion of children consuming fruit salad, mixed fruit

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 441 16.0 15.6 22.0 18.6 16.9 4.5 5.1 1.3

Female 444 14.6 12.2 20.8 22.6 16.0 6.3 4.8 2.3

Year 5 Male 592 20.2 19.1 25.3 18.6 9.2 2.7 4.3 0.6

Female 696 12.3 20.5 27.2 17.3 13.5 3.9 3.2 2.1

Year 10 Male 411 11.9 17.7 30.3 25.8 6.3 5.1 2.7 0.3

Female 514 7.6 15.0 28.7 23.1 15.7 4.4 4.6 0.9

Table 99 Proportion of children consuming apple, pear

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 458 1.9 1.8 5.2 8.4 27.5 19.8 28.2 7.1

Female 457 2.4 2.0 3.4 10.1 31.7 16.8 25.4 8.1

Year 5 Male 598 4.8 5.0 8.3 15.2 27.0 12.7 21.0 5.9

Female 702 2.1 1.9 9.6 13.5 29.7 15.7 23.3 4.3

Year 10 Male 410 2.2 5.9 13.8 17.1 24.8 9.6 20.1 6.6

Female 522 5.2 4.9 9.0 20.1 25.0 6.8 23.6 5.4

Table 100 Proportion of children consuming orange, mandarin, grapefruit

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 455 12.3 4.7 13.1 16.2 25.0 14.0 12.1 2.7

Female 455 12.9 6.0 8.0 18.4 29.3 10.3 10.1 5.1

Year 5 Male 594 11.0 7.0 11.1 18.6 23.5 8.3 15.2 5.3

Female 700 8.2 4.8 12.8 18.5 26.8 10.3 15.6 2.9

Year10 Male 412 7.3 7.2 17.6 19.8 24.8 7.0 13.0 3.3

Female 520 6.3 5.9 16.8 20.8 23.7 9.2 12.3 5.1

69

Table 101 Proportion of children consuming banana

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 457 9.7 7.9 14.4 17.2 26.1 11.9 10.8 1.9

Female 443 10.5 5.1 10.6 18.7 32.5 9.8 9.5 3.3

Year 5 Male 599 16.1 11.0 17.7 18.7 21.0 6.3 7.9 1.2

Female 702 12.4 9.3 18.6 19.3 21.9 6.7 10.0 1.8

Year 10 Male 413 10.9 10.9 21.1 24.6 19.1 5.9 4.7 2.8

Female 519 12.2 13.7 21.8 22.8 16.3 5.4 5.7 2.2

Table 102 Proportion of children consuming peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, cherries

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 25.0 15.1 19.8 20.3 13.3 3.9 2.3 0.4

Female 450 24.0 12.6 17.9 16.6 18.7 4.8 3.8 1.7

Year 5 Male 599 26.8 18.9 22.4 12.9 11.8 3.7 3.2 0.2

Female 701 17.5 16.3 24.1 19.0 12.7 3.9 5.4 1.0

Year 10 Male 413 18.6 14.6 23.2 25.5 9.4 3.9 4.0 0.8

Female 520 15.9 14.7 22.8 23.1 11.9 4.9 5.2 1.6

Table 103 Proportion of children consuming mango, pawpaw

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 449 33.0 22.3 14.2 14.2 9.5 1.6 1.0 0

Female 451 33.7 16.5 14.7 14.7 8.2 1.9 3.0 0.2

Year 5 Male 599 32.3 22.4 12.3 12.3 9.3 1.3 1.8 0.2

Female 696 25.7 22.0 13.7 13.7 7.8 2.7 3.4 1.3

Year 10 Male 412 20.8 20.9 16.7 16.7 7.4 1.8 3.8 1.1

Female 521 19.2 21.8 15.6 15.6 11.4 3.0 3.4 1.4

Table 104 Proportion of children consuming pineapple

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 30.7 16.6 24.9 17.1 8.3 1.7 0.7 0

Female 452 25.2 17.8 23.7 16.4 11.3 3.2 2.2 0.2

Year 5 Male 598 22.0 22.1 24.3 19.0 9.9 1.5 0.9 0.2

Female 697 20.3 17.7 27.4 18.7 8.8 3.4 3.2 0.5

Year 10 Male 414 16.9 18.4 30.2 19.7 10.3 2.6 1.9 0

Female 522 14.8 19.5 28.2 17.4 12.5 4.4 2.4 0.7

Table 105 Proportion of children consuming berries (e.g. strawberries, blueberries)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 18.4 13.3 20.6 21.6 15.3 4.0 5.9 0.9

Female 457 13.9 9.6 20.2 21.6 19.8 5.8 6.9 2.1

Year 5 Male 599 20.3 16.9 20.8 18.7 15.1 3.8 3.7 0.8

Female 697 13.7 13.1 24.3 24.1 15.3 3.2 5.2 1.1

Year 10 Male 414 16.8 19.3 27.5 20.6 10.6 3.1 1.7 0.4

Female 519 14.1 16.7 21.7 26.9 12.5 4.1 2.7 1.3

70

Table 106 Proportion of children consuming melon (e.g. watermelon, rockmelon)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 11.3 11.7 22.7 20.5 22.4 5.8 3.5 2.0

Female 455 10.4 9.8 19.0 22.9 23.9 7.0 5.9 1.1

Year 5 Male 600 13.2 14.5 25.7 21.3 16.6 4.5 3.5 0.7

Female 699 8.8 14.5 25.7 23.8 16.4 4.4 5.2 1.3

Year 10 Male 412 10.6 15.2 34.1 24.7 10.3 3.1 1.8 0.3

Female 519 8.1 20.7 27.9 22.3 11.3 3.8 4.5 1.5

Table 107 Proportion of children consuming other fruit (e.g. grapes, kiwi fruit)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 13.2 6.9 19.4 17.0 28.1 7.3 6.3 1.7

Female 457 10.1 5.1 17.8 21.0 29.4 6.8 7.5 2.4

Year 5 Male 599 12.8 12.5 22.1 20.5 19.6 4.5 6.3 1.6

Female 700 7.7 8.7 20.9 25.8 21.0 6.1 8.0 1.8

Year 10 Male 413 10.0 13.8 25.6 22.1 18.3 3.3 5.3 1.7

Female 521 7.3 8.7 28.4 25.5 14.3 6.9 6.8 2.1

Over 80% of Year 1 children and 60-70% of Years 5 and 10 children reported consuming an apple or pear 2-4 times per week. One in four of all children reported eating an apple or pear every day. Whilst citrus fruits (orange, mandarin, grapefruit) were consumed less frequently, 70% or more of all children reported consuming them once a week or more with between 10% to 15% reporting daily consumption.

Other fruits such as bananas, stone fruit, mango, pineapple, berries and paw-paw had low levels of reported consumption with about a quarter to a third of children reporting that they never consumed these items. Many of these fruit are seasonal which could affect overall consumption as well as introduce recall bias. It should be noted that the banana consumption during the time of the survey is likely to have been dramatically affected by the banana shortage, as a result of hurricane Katrina, in 2006.

Bread and Cereal foods

Table 108 Proportion of children consuming white bread, toast or rolls

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 6.3 7.7 7.0 6.5 12.0 12.1 26.7 21.6

Female 452 4.5 6.5 6.1 6.0 11.1 10.4 31.7 23.7

Year 5 Male 596 3.3 5.9 6.7 8.0 14.9 11.8 28.0 21.6

Female 700 3.0 5.6 6.0 9.3 12.4 11.1 30.8 21.8

Year 10 Male 412 1.9 2.5 5.4 8.3 16.0 14.4 26.3 25.2

Female 523 6.7 4.1 8.8 9.9 16.7 12.4 25.6 15.8

Table 109 Proportion of children consuming wholemeal or mixed grain bread, toast, rolls

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 19.1 6.0 8.7 8.1 12.9 8.5 22.2 14.4

Female 456 21.7 6.0 12.0 9.1 16.5 7.6 16.3 10.8

Year 5 Male 601 20.4 9.2 12.0 10.3 13.3 6.2 17.5 11.1

Female 698 21.8 9.2 13.0 11.4 13.2 6.9 16.9 7.8

Year 10 Male 414 15.6 8.0 12.9 16.7 13.5 9.5 15.7 8.0

Female 522 11.3 6.8 15.1 15.0 15.5 10.7 17.8 7.9

71

Table 110 Proportion of children consuming English muffi n, bagel, crumpet, foccacia, fl at bread

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 452 19.1 21.7 25.7 20.1 11.6 0.4 1.1 0.3

Female 451 19.5 19.9 24.5 19.4 11.3 1.6 3.6 0.1

Year 5 Male 601 16.5 21.9 27.6 19.4 9.5 1.6 3.0 0.6

Female 699 18.1 20.3 26.9 20.0 9.6 2.3 2.7 0.2

Year 10 Male 414 15.1 20.3 29.1 20.8 6.6 2.8 4.7 0.6

Female 522 18.3 22.9 27.2 17.3 7.8 2.6 3.4 0.5

Table 111 Proportion of children consuming dry or savoury biscuits, crispbread, crackers, rice cakes

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 4.4 3.1 10.7 18.3 29.3 12.4 15.8 6.0

Female 456 3.0 3.2 10.7 13.6 32.1 8.2 22.3 6.9

Year 5 Male 601 6.8 10.1 16.8 17.1 24.0 8.8 14.1 2.3

Female 702 8.3 9.3 13.4 18.4 24.3 8.7 14.3 3.1

Year 10 Male 414 13.1 9.8 21.1 20.3 19.5 5.6 8.4 2.3

Female 523 7.6 10.9 21.1 26.0 16.4 7.1 8.8 2.1

Table 112 Proportion of children consuming muesli

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 439 66.7 9.0 10.2 7.9 4.0 0.2 1.8 0.2

Female 450 65.1 12.2 6.4 5.5 5.2 0.3 5.1 0.3

Year 5 Male 596 58.3 17.3 8.8 6.4 4.4 1.4 2.9 0.5

Female 700 59.8 12.7 9.3 9.1 3.4 1.9 3.0 0.7

Year 10 Male 414 27.8 19.4 15.8 13.0 11.6 4.2 6.1 2.1

Female 521 34.2 16.2 17.8 13.7 7.7 3.3 6.6 0.5

Table 113 Proportion of children consuming cooked porridge

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 449 40.7 11.8 17.7 12.2 13.9 1.3 2.4 0

Female 456 43.0 12.8 16.2 11.7 10.5 1.6 4.0 0.1

Year 5 Male 601 42.7 13.6 17.0 8.4 11.9 2.5 3.0 0.9

Female 698 40.9 18.4 16.6 9.5 9.5 1.6 2.9 0.6

Year 10 Male 413 41.2 20.5 18.6 9.9 6.3 1.9 1.6 0

Female 523 40.7 20.6 16.5 11.0 6.8 1.4 2.5 0.6

Table 114 Proportion of children consuming breakfast cereal

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 462 2.1 0.3 2.8 6.9 19.2 17.3 48.5 3.0

Female 453 2.4 1.6 4.5 5.8 18.3 16.2 50.1 1.2

Year 5 Male 601 1.3 2.5 4.5 7.4 22.0 14.0 44.1 4.2

Female 699 2.9 4.0 6.2 8.5 23.4 12.7 40.6 1.8

Year 10 Male 414 4.7 6.2 6.8 8.5 14.9 14.7 40.4 3.8

Female 520 8.9 9.8 11.5 11.1 14.7 10.2 23.9 1.7

72

Table 115 Proportion of children consuming rice including white or brown

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 6.4 4.7 15.5 37.1 27.3 4.0 3.3 1.8

Female 453 4.4 4.8 14.6 38.0 28.5 3.9 4.4 1.4

Year 5 Male 599 7.6 5.7 19.6 32.8 28.2 1.8 3.3 0.9

Female 693 7.4 5.9 16.8 34.2 28.4 3.2 2.8 1.3

Year 10 Male 410 6.2 6.2 26.7 30.0 22.7 2.1 4.0 2.0

Female 519 7.9 7.1 26.3 28.5 18.9 5.3 5.2 0.7

Table 116 Proportion of children consuming pasta including fi lled pasta, noodles, lasagne

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 459 2.2 2.0 11.3 37.4 41.4 4.1 1.6 0

Female 462 1.3 1.2 10.6 41.4 39.7 2.6 2.7 0.4

Year 5 Male 603 2.2 3.2 16.3 35.6 37.5 2.7 1.8 0.7

Female 702 1.6 4.4 14.7 38.4 35.0 2.1 3.3 0.4

Year 10 Male 413 3.6 3.2 20.1 37.6 27.0 4.9 2.7 0.8

Female 523 1.8 4.6 17.6 37.7 32.1 4.9 0.9 0.4

Close to half of all children consumed white bread, toast or rolls at least once a day, with about a fi fth consuming these items at least twice a day. Consumption of wholemeal or mixed grain bread, toast or rolls was less common, with about a quarter to a third of all children consuming these items daily or more.

Rice was consumed by most children to some extent. Almost three quarters of Year 1 children reported rice consumption at least once a week, with this fi gure falling to about 60% in Year 10 children. Pasta, including fi lled pasta, noodles and lasagne, were also consumed by about three quarters of all children at least once a week.

Baked Goods and Snacks

Table 117 Proportion of children consuming meat pie, sausage roll, other savoury pastries

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 455 9.5 26.9 37.4 20.9 4.0 0.6 0.7 0

Female 456 10.4 23.7 33.0 27.6 4.7 0.3 0.4 0

Year 5 Male 601 5.5 21.2 40.1 26.7 5.3 0.8 0.4 0

Female 697 8.1 23.4 36.0 25.1 5.2 0.9 0.9 0.2

Year 10 Male 414 3.2 10.3 30.5 33.2 15.3 4.1 2.7 0.7

Female 521 8.9 22.0 35.5 20.3 10.1 1.1 1.9 0.2

Table 118 Proportion of children consuming pizza

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 3.9 26.6 50.0 18.9 0.6 0 0 0

Female 456 7.4 26.4 46.2 19.8 0.3 0 0 0

Year 5 Male 599 2.6 25.0 49.9 20.7 1.7 0.2 0 0

Female 696 5.6 30.2 42.4 19.2 1.7 0.1 0.6 0.2

Year 10 Male 414 2.8 17.4 48.5 25.1 3.8 2.0 0 0.4

Female 520 6.6 28.5 44.6 18.0 1.9 0 0.5 0

73

Table 119 Proportion of children consuming hamburger with bun

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 448 17.9 36.1 35.4 10.2 0.4 0 0 0

Female 456 22.7 35.8 31.7 9.5 0.3 0 0 0

Year 5 Male 599 14.2 33.2 38.3 13.0 0.9 0.2 0.2 0

Female 693 15.3 36.0 33.2 13.3 0.8 0.2 1.1 0.2

Year 10 Male 412 6.3 19.0 43.3 22.9 6.1 1.7 0.7 0

Female 520 11.5 30.5 41.3 12.0 3.8 0 0.7 0

Table 120 Proportion of children consuming cakes, muffi ns, scones, pikelets

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 455 2.3 14.8 25.1 27.8 22.2 3.0 3.8 1.0

Female 457 2.1 9.2 30.0 27.4 24.9 2.5 3.7 0.1

Year 5 Male 598 3.3 14.0 28.1 24.0 21.2 3.5 5.7 0.1

Female 698 2.0 14.9 27.9 26.1 19.3 2.5 6.6 0.6

Year 10 Male 413 3.2 17.1 38.1 24.7 10.9 3.3 2.8 0

Female 522 4.0 18.4 41.0 21.9 8.1 1.5 5.0 0

Table 121 Proportion of children consuming sweet pies or sweet pastries

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 444 37.8 38.4 18.9 4.0 0.7 0 0.3 0

Female 455 36.3 29.4 22.7 8.8 1.9 0.2 0.6 0

Year 5 Male 601 31.7 38.9 19.2 7.3 2.6 0.1 0.1 0

Female 696 30.7 33.3 22.7 9.9 2.2 0.1 0.8 0.3

Year 10 Male 412 15.8 28.8 42.7 8.9 3.7 0 0.2 0

Female 521 20.7 32.9 33.5 9.0 3.1 0.3 0.5 0

Table 122 Proportion of children consuming other puddings and desserts

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 444 13.8 24.8 24.9 15.4 14.6 1.3 5.2 0

Female 445 11.4 18.4 27.3 20.0 16.6 1.3 5.0 0

Year 5 Male 601 13.5 24.3 24.1 17.0 12.6 2.8 5.4 0

Female 694 9.2 29.7 26.7 17.8 9.1 2.6 4.4 0.4

Year 10 Male 413 7.1 19.8 31.2 23.5 11.7 2.8 3.6 0.2

Female 520 10.2 28.8 29.1 20.8 7.8 1.2 1.9 0.1

Table 123 Proportion of children consuming plain sweet biscuits

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 442 3.2 14.4 15.3 25.7 26.2 4.3 10.1 0.7

Female 448 4.8 10.1 15.4 21.2 31.2 5.0 10.8 1.5

Year 5 Male 602 8.9 16.4 18.6 22.6 19.2 4.0 9.4 0.9

Female 697 9.5 16.4 20.9 19.7 21.4 3.2 7.7 1.1

Year 10 Male 411 5.8 16.5 27.3 23.6 15.9 5.5 3.5 1.9

Female 521 10.5 18.5 28.1 22.2 12.3 3.4 3.6 1.4

74

Table 124 Proportion of children consuming fancy biscuit including jam/cream fi lled, chocolate, fruit and nut

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 448 8.5 21.3 29.8 18.5 17.7 0.5 2.9 0.8

Female 455 8.7 18.1 26.7 21.8 16.3 3.3 4.4 0.8

Year 5 Male 598 14.2 21.2 24.3 21.2 11.4 2.7 4.5 0.5

Female 697 11.4 22.9 26.3 21.2 12.4 2.1 2.4 1.2

Year 10 Male 412 6.9 22.8 26.3 23.5 13.9 4.2 1.6 0.7

Female 522 10.4 21.8 30.3 21.5 10.9 1.7 2.7 0.7

Table 125 Proportion of children consuming chocolate including chocolate bars (e.g. Mars™)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 456 7.7 18.4 28.8 28.8 13.9 1.2 0.9 0.1

Female 457 3.3 17.8 27.9 30.6 16.0 2.4 1.7 0.4

Year 5 Male 601 4.0 18.5 31.7 26.6 12.5 3.6 2.6 0.5

Female 696 3.7 18.2 27.9 28.5 15.6 2.1 3.5 0.4

Year 10 Male 414 2.8 11.7 30.4 28.6 16.9 4.1 4.1 1.5

Female 522 2.2 15.9 25.3 27.0 19.0 5.2 3.7 1.7

Table 126 Proportion of children consuming other lollies, confectioneries

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 449 3.0 13.3 27.7 28.9 20.5 3.8 2.6 0.2

Female 455 3.0 10.8 23.0 33.9 23.2 3.0 2.9 0.1

Year 5 Male 602 4.0 13.7 28.1 30.2 18.4 2.1 3.0 0.5

Female 693 3.7 12.5 29.5 33.2 15.7 2.3 2.1 1.0

Year 10 Male 413 3.0 14.5 20.5 35.2 18.0 3.0 3.7 2.1

Female 521 4.0 11.4 28.5 26.6 19.7 3.0 4.3 2.3

Table 127 Proportion of children consuming nuts

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 449 34.4 23.9 17.3 12.5 8.0 1.7 2.3 0

Female 450 31.1 18.3 17.7 13.5 13.8 3.2 2.3 0

Year 5 Male 594 27.0 21.0 25.2 14.0 7.8 2.9 1.8 0.2

Female 695 24.7 21.8 25.3 15.3 7.8 1.2 3.6 0.3

Year 10 Male 413 19.1 21.1 26.1 18.9 7.4 1.9 4.0 1.6

Female 515 15.8 23.6 24.2 18.8 11.5 2.0 3.8 0.2

Table 128 Proportion of children consuming potato chips, corn chips, (e.g. Twisties™) etc

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 461 0.9 13.2 26.1 28.4 22.3 4.5 4.4 0.1

Female 458 2.0 9.2 25.3 30.4 22.7 2.8 7.1 0.4

Year 5 Male 602 2.9 9.5 27.9 24.0 22.8 5.5 7.1 0.3

Female 696 1.2 10.4 23.0 27.3 20.2 6.2 11.1 0.5

Year 10 Male 413 1.3 11.1 19.4 32.6 18.4 5.5 8.8 2.8

Female 522 4.5 15.3 27.7 22.6 14.0 4.7 9.7 1.4

Between a fi fth and a third of all children consumed meat pies, sausages rolls or other savoury pastries at least once a week. Approximately one in four Year 10 boys reported consuming these items at least twice per week

75

or more. Pizza was consumed by nearly all children to some extent, with close to a fi fth of all children reporting consumption once a week. Hamburgers with buns were consumed by about 10 – 15% of children at least once a week, except for Year 10 boys where this increased to about 30% of those surveyed.

About half of all children reported consuming chocolate or chocolate bars at least once a week, and other confectionary such as lollies were consumed at a slightly greater rate. About a third of Year 1 children never consumed nuts, whereas less than 2% of the same children reported never consuming potato chips or corn chips.

Sugar, Spreads and Dressings

Table 129 Proportion of children consuming sugar, syrups

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 455 13.3 9.0 10.8 15.5 16.4 6.0 26.4 2.5

Female 452 12.7 9.0 11.6 15.3 18.4 8.2 22.0 2.6

Year 5 Male 600 8.5 8.9 12.7 18.7 13.9 6.9 25.2 5.1

Female 697 10.9 12.4 12.6 15.4 16.7 6.5 23.5 2.0

Year 10 Male 413 7.5 9.3 13.1 21.2 13.7 4.5 26.8 3.9

Female 523 8.6 15.3 20.8 20.6 8.3 9.0 14.2 2.7

Table 130 Proportion of children consuming jam, marmalade

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 453 25.5 12.7 17.3 14.0 18.0 4.6 7.4 0.4

Female 452 28.7 9.4 19.8 19.2 12.5 2.7 7.0 0.7

Year 5 Male 599 23.9 14.8 17.1 19.6 16.4 2.8 5.2 0.3

Female 695 27.8 17.7 19.0 14.7 13.2 2.2 4.8 0.5

Year 10 Male 414 14.3 15.3 22.2 23.6 14.0 4.1 6.1 0.6

Female 522 21.9 25.8 23.7 15.0 7.5 4.0 2.0 0.2

Table 131 Proportion of children consuming peanut butter, other nut spreads

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 454 22.9 8.6 7.9 15.1 26.0 6.2 10.1 3.3

Female 453 25.7 5.6 12.3 18.7 17.3 6.9 12.5 1.0

Year 5 Male 599 18.5 10.7 12.8 16.8 24.6 6.8 8.1 1.7

Female 694 20.1 12.1 17.4 17.5 18.1 5.5 8.1 1.1

Year 10 Male 412 19.2 11.8 20.1 19.6 15.6 4.6 7.8 1.3

Female 523 20.3 20.3 17.9 18.5 12.6 4.6 4.0 1.7

Table 132 Proportion of children consuming butter, dairy blends, margarine

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 4.0 2.8 0.5 2.8 9.6 13.1 42.6 24.6

Female 454 4.2 1.5 1.7 3.6 8.7 11.6 42.6 26.3

Year 5 Male 596 6.4 3.7 3.4 5.7 9.1 12.1 38.4 21.1

Female 691 7.6 4.2 5.7 7.0 9.4 11.2 35.1 19.8

Year 10 Male 409 6.5 3.2 6.8 13.3 11.6 14.2 31.4 12.9

Female 519 6.9 7.2 4.5 12.2 15.9 11.2 29.8 12.2

76

Table 133 Proportion of children consuming Vegemite™, Marmite™, Promite™

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 447 14.1 3.3 7.6 13.1 24.1 12.3 21.4 4.0

Female 447 15.4 2.6 4.3 9.8 23.6 11.1 25.8 7.4

Year 5 Male 598 20.5 7.5 8.9 13.3 20.2 10.6 14.7 4.4

Female 693 20.7 6.2 9.7 15.3 18.3 8.8 16.3 4.6

Year 10 Male 413 25.1 11.5 10.0 22.6 12.7 4.1 11.1 2.8

Female 521 17.8 9.6 10.1 18.8 14.9 13.3 12.1 3.4

Tabel 134 Proportion of children consuming oil and vinegar dressing

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 450 61.2 13.7 8.7 5.7 6.5 1.7 2.4 0

Female 456 59.3 10.8 8.8 8.7 6.6 1.8 3.7 0.4

Year 5 Male 598 52.4 13.8 10.7 10.0 8.8 1.5 2.7 0.2

Female 693 48.8 14.7 12.2 10.4 8.4 2.3 3.2 0

Year 10 Male 412 35.8 15.0 19.4 14.8 7.7 2.6 3.7 0.8

Female 519 33.5 18.8 18.8 12.5 7.9 4.5 3.4 0.7

Table 135 Proportion of children consuming mayonnaise, other creamy dressing

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 452 56.9 14.5 11.7 8.1 5.3 2.1 1.4 0

Female 455 52.2 12.8 12.1 10.6 8.0 1.6 2.4 0.3

Year 5 Male 601 38.7 15.1 17.9 15.8 9.3 1.4 1.8 0

Female 695 33.9 14.7 19.6 15.8 12.3 1.6 2.0 0.1

Year 10 Male 414 22.3 15.5 26.8 17.3 11.7 2.7 3.2 0.5

Female 523 22.2 17.3 24.2 17.7 9.6 4.6 3.9 0.4

About a quarter of all children reported consuming sugar or syrup once a day, except for Year 10 girls in whom about 15% reported this level of consumption. Jam and marmalade were consumed at least once a week by between 30% to 50% of all children. Twenty to 25% of all children reported that they never consumed peanut butter or other nut spreads, with between 4% and 13% of children reporting daily consumption.

Consumption of butter, dairy blends and margarine were greater in the younger children. Around two thirds of Year 1 children reported consumption at least once a day, whilst this fi gure dropped to close to 40% in Year 10 children. Consumption of oil and vinegar dressings increased markedly with age. About 60% of Year 1 children reported never consuming, whilst this fi gure fell to about 35% in Year 10 children, with about 10% to 15% of the these children reporting that these items were consumed once a week.

Dairy Foods

Table 136 Proportion of children consuming milk/soy as a drink

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 13.7 1.7 6.3 8.7 23.1 8.7 25.0 12.7

Female 448 15.5 4.1 7.1 7.6 20.4 7.3 25.9 12.0

Year 5 Male 600 16.6 3.0 8.5 10.7 17.7 7.1 24.7 11.6

Female 693 21.6 7.4 8.1 9.9 17.7 8.7 19.4 7.3

Year 10 Male 411 21.9 5.6 8.2 16.0 16.8 6.6 16.4 8.6

Female 517 21.4 12.1 11.4 13.6 13.2 4.3 16.9 7.0

77

Table 137 Proportion of children consuming fl avoured milk/soy drink (e.g. milkshake, iced-coffee, hot

chocolate)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 455 7.3 10.3 20.8 21.7 20.7 5.6 10.9 2.6

Female 456 5.8 13.9 15.3 19.8 25.4 5.5 12.8 1.4

Year 5 Male 602 6.1 11.6 19.3 20.6 18.5 8.0 13.3 2.6

Female 696 6.9 13.5 22.7 22.1 16.8 5.6 10.4 2.1

Year 10 Male 412 5.7 10.5 20.8 22.0 23.2 5.2 8.7 3.8

Female 522 6.5 12.5 23.1 21.9 16.4 7.1 9.7 2.7

Table 138 Proportion of children consuming milk/soy on breakfast cereals

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 440 8.8 0.1 2.3 3.5 13.7 13.1 55.1 3.2

Female 447 9.6 0.3 4.3 4.0 13.5 11.4 55.6 1.2

Year 5 Male 597 9.0 2.3 1.9 5.3 13.8 12.5 51.6 3.7

Female 688 12.9 3.8 4.3 7.6 16.0 13.5 39.4 2.5

Year 10 Male 412 14.1 4.8 5.9 10.0 10.8 14.7 36.0 3.7

Female 515 15.8 8.3 10.7 11.6 15.0 9.3 26.7

2.5

Table 139 Proportion of children consuming milk/soy to top up hot drinks (e.g. milk in tea)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 441 49.3 9.5 8.8 11.6 10.7 2.6 5.7 1.7

Female 441 52.4 9.2 8.5 8.7 8.7 4.2 6.7 1.6

Year 5 Male 593 34.2 10.2 11.9 14.1 10.6 5.3 11.3 2.5

Female 691 35.6 11.5 10.9 13.4 12.4 5.3 9.0 1.8

Year 10 Male 403 22.5 9.9 10.8 15.1 17.4 5.1 16.8 2.4

Female 520 19.3 14.6 16.4 13.6 13.0 6.0 12.4 4.6

Table 140 Proportion of children consuming cream or sour cream

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 448 33.0 24.0 26.0 11.9 5.0 0 0.2 0

Female 451 33.3 21.3 26.1 12.5 6.0 0.4 0.4 0

Year 5 Male 598 29.2 23.1 26.8 15.9 4.6 0 0.1 0.2

Female 688 26.5 23.8 27.0 14.9 5.2 1.2 1.2 0.2

Year 10 Male 412 21.4 20.5 34.7 17.6 4.5 0.4 0.9 0

Female 521 19.6 27.3 27.4 17.5 5.6 1.6 1.0 0

Table 141 Proportion of children consuming ice-cream

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 457 1.5 11.5 24.3 20.8 33.4 2.5 6.1 0

Female 456 1.4 9.0 23.6 25.3 29.7 5.1 5.3 0.6

Year 5 Male 595 1.3 9.4 26.2 18.6 28.2 9.7 6.4 0.1

Female 694 2.2 11.1 24.2 23.2 27.6 7.2 3.6 1.0

Year 10 Male 412 3.4 9.7 24.4 23.3 24.6 7.7 6.5 0.5

Female 518 5.6 16.2 27.6 22.3 15.1 6.0 6.4 0.8

78

Table 142 Proportion of children consuming yoghurt including plain, frozen, fl avoured, and fromage frais

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 452 7.0 3.7 13.3 11.6 26.8 12.0 22.5 3.0

Female 455 8.1 5.5 8.1 11.9 31.5 12.5 20.2 2.3

Year 5 Male 601 16.1 11.3 17.3 13.6 23.5 7.0 10.2 1.0

Female 696 12.6 12.3 17.7 16.3 23.9 7.2 9.9 0.1

Year 10 Male 411 16.3 14.2 21.1 22.4 15.5 5.9 3.5 1.0

Female 521 13.0 18.0 24.1 22.0 13.3 3.2 6.3 0.1

Table 143 Proportion of children consuming cottage or ricotta cheese

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 444 75.0 13.0 6.9 2.0 2.4 0.2 0.6 0

Female 456 76.4 10.6 6.0 2.7 3.2 0.8 0.3 0

Year 5 Male 600 74.6 10.6 7.8 3.1 2.8 0.5 0.5 0.2

Female 688 69.3 13.3 8.8 5.0 2.3 0.8 0.3 0.3

Year 10 Male 411 52.0 19.5 17.0 6.7 2.9 1.3 0.7 0

Female 521 52.6 21.3 15.0 6.4 3.0 0.4 1.3 0

Table 144 Proportion of children consuming cheddar and all other cheeses

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 451 2.5 2.2 6.5 13.5 31.2 17.5 22.5 3.8

Female 454 4.7 0.9 6.1 8.8 34.9 19.0 22.0 3.3

Year 5 Male 599 5.5 3.1 7.4 13.3 35.3 13.9 17.6 3.7

Female 692 7.9 4.3 7.8 16.1 36.3 13.0 12.3 2.3

Year 10 Male 412 8.2 6.0 19.5 19.0 27.8 7.0 11.2 1.3

Female 521 7.7 11.0 13.6 20.7 25.8 8.7 10.4 2.1

A quarter to just over a third of all children reported consuming milk/soy as a drink at least once a day. In contrast, 15% to 20% of all children reported never drinking milk as a drink per se. Over a half of Year 1 children consumed milk/soy with breakfast cereal at least once a day, this fi gure falling to about a quarter of Year 10 girls. Yoghurt consumption decreased with age, with 75% of Year 1 children reporting eating yoghurt at least once a week and 25% reporting daily consumption, dropping to 50% of Year 10 consuming yogurt once a week and only 5% reporting daily consumption.

Ice cream was consumed by between 50% to 60% of all children at least once a week. Between 25% and 40% of children had ice-cream at least twice a week and 6% to 7% of all children reported consuming ice-cream once per day.

Cheese consumption dropped with age, with over 40% of Year 1 children reporting consuming cheddar and other cheeses 5-6 times a week or more, and falling to 20% of Year 10 children. Across the sample, at least 70% of children had cheese of one kind or other at least once per week.

79

Non- milk drinks

Table 145 Proportion of children consuming water including unfl avoured mineral water, soda water, tap

water

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 460 3.8 0.5 0.3 0.7 1.4 4.3 7.7 81.5

Female 454 3.3 0.5 0.2 0 1.4 3.1 9.0 82.7

Year 5 Male 602 3.1 2.2 1.3 1.0 2.1 5.0 7.9 77.4

Female 696 2.4 1.0 4.5 2.1 2.3 5.5 8.3 73.8

Year 10 Male 411 3.3 1.1 2.6 6.9 3.8 7.6 7.9 66.8

Female 523 4.0 2.0 1.0 4.2 1.5 6.8 6.4 74.2

Table 146 Proportion of children consuming 100% fruit juice

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 452 8.5 10.9 14.3 11.5 20.0 6.8 23.0 5.0

Female 451 12.7 10.4 11.9 14.1 17.6 8.1 20.5 4.8

Year 5 Male 599 9.3 12.9 14.3 12.4 19.3 7.7 20.0 4.1

Female 692 10.5 10.6 15.3 15.1 16.3 8.8 19.6 3.8

Year 10 Male 409 6.7 14.1 21.4 18.4 16.5 6.2 12.9 3.9

Female 522 9.8 13.1 17.3 16.6 16.1 8.2 14.0 5.1

Table 147 Proportion of children consuming fruit juice drinks (e.g. 35% fruit)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 441 19.6 14.3 16.7 8.6 17.9 6.4 13.2 3.1

Female 445 15.3 14.5 16.4 12.6 18.9 6.0 12.9 2.4

Year 5 Male 600 15.2 12.6 14.7 10.1 20.3 9.1 15.3 2.3

Female 686 16.6 13.6 13.0 14.4 15.8 9.5 13.0 3.5

Year 10 Male 409 8.8 8.4 14.7 20.7 20.2 12.8 11.4 1.8

Female 520 10.0 11.5 14.9 20.1 16.2 8.5 13.6 4.2

Table 148 Proportion of children consuming cordial

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 449 19.5 15.4 12.4 11.0 19.3 5.9 9.4 7.1

Female 444 19.4 16.8 12.1 8.6 18.1 6.2 12.3 6.6

Year 5 Male 600 17.8 13.3 13.8 13.6 18.4 6.3 9.1 7.6

Female 692 18.3 16.3 16.0 17.2 14.0 4.8 9.5 4.0

Year 10 Male 409 16.1 10.6 18.1 18.9 12.9 5.6 10.5 7.4

Female 520 24.8 18.3 16.8 14.0 10.3 3.4 6.2 6.1

80

Table 149 Proportion of children consuming coffee

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 447 95.8 1.8 0.9 1.1 0.4 0 0 0

Female 451 95.7 2.0 0.7 1.3 0 0 0.2 0.1

Year 5 Male 597 87.6 4.4 2.2 2.6 0.6 0.7 1.2 0.6

Female 694 91.0 3.9 1.0 1.8 0.6 0.1 0.6 1.0

Year 10 Male 410 50.1 8.9 8.6 12.3 7.8 3.9 6.3 2.1

Female 521 63.3 8.1 8.2 7.3 5.6 1.5 5.3 0.6

Table 150 Proportion of children consuming tea

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 452 75.2 9.3 4.2 4.4 3.5 0.9 2.3 0.2

Female 453 70.6 8.8 6.2 6.5 4.4 1.0 1.9 0.6

Year 5 Male 601 57.3 15.9 8.6 5.8 6.5 2.3 2.9 0.5

Female 699 55.8 11.8 12.7 6.4 8.2 1.0 3.5 0.6

Year 10 Male 411 36.3 14.3 14.6 16.5 7.9 2.1 7.2 1.3

Female 522 45.1 10.7 13.0 11.0 7.9 3.6 5.5 3.4

Seventy-fi ve percent of Year 5 and 10 children, and 80% of Year 1 children reported drinking water at least twice a day. A notable 5% of all children, however, reporting drinking water never or rarely, and up to 10% of Year 5 and 10 children reporting drinking water only once a week or less.

Fruit juice (100%) was reported to be drunk on a daily basis by approximately a quarter of Year 1 children, however it was less common for Year 10 children, with only 10%-15% reporting drinking fruit juice daily. Fruit juice drinks and cordials were reported to be drunk daily by about 15% of children at all three Year levels.

Coffee consumption was negligible in Year 1 children but about a fi fth of Year 10 girls and a third of Year 10 boys reported consuming coffee once a week or more. Similarly tea was not commonly drunk: with 80% of Year 1, 70% of Year 5 and 50% of Year 10 children respectively, never or rarely drinking tea.

Additional non-milk drink items for children in Year 10

Children in Year 10 were also asked to report on their usual frequency of consumption of alcohol over the past twelve months

Table 151 Proportion of children consuming beer- low alcohol

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

≥ 1 per day

Year 10 Male 386 76.0 13.3 6.9 2.8 0.9 0 0.2

Female 504 86.6 9.5 2.9 1.0 0 0 0

Table 152 Proportion of children consuming beer- full strength

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

≥ 1 per day

Year 10 Male 386 79.1 10.2 5.9 3.7 0.7 0.4 0.2

Female 505 92.1 5.0 0.7 2.3 0 0 0

81

Table 153 Proportion of children consuming red wine

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

≥ 1 per day

Year 10 Male 384 91.7 4.9 1.7 1.0 0.7 0 0

Female 505 89.9 5.9 3.2 0.8 0.2 0 0

Table 154 Proportion of children consuming white wine or champagne/sparkling wine

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

≥ 1 per day

Year 10 Male 386 91.8 5.8 1.3 1.1 0 0 0

Female 507 86.6 8.9 3.5 0.3 0.6 0 0

Table 155 Proportion of children consuming wine cooler

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

≥ 1 per day

Year 10 Male 386 94.8 3.3 0.8 0.6 0.5 0 0

Female 505 97.0 1.5 1.3 0.2 0 0 0

Table 156 Proportion of children consuming sherry or port

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

≥ 1 per day

Year 10 Male 386 94.0 4.9 1.0 0.1 0 0 0

Female 506 95.2 4.0 0.8 0 0 0 0

Table 157 Proportion of children consuming pre-mixed drinks (e.g. Bacardi breezer)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

≥ 1 per day

Year 10 Male 386 78.0 11.6 6.7 2.8 0.8 0 0

Female 505 76.1 11.4 7.6 3.4 1.2 0.3 0

Table 158 Proportion of children consuming spirits or liqueurs

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per week 2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

≥ 1 per day

Year 10 Male 384 91.7 4.9 1.7 1.0 0.7 0 0

Female 505 89.9 5.9 3.2 0.8 0.2 0 0

Seventy fi ve percent of Year 10 reported never drinking alcohol. About 3% of Year 10 children reported consuming full strength beer, low alcohol beer, pre mixed drinks or spirits and liqueurs at least once a week. Pre-mixed drinks themselves were reported to be drunk by 10% of Year 10 at least once a month.

82

Supplements

Table 159 Proportion of children consuming vitamin and mineral supplements (including tablets, capsules or

drops)

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 449 58.5 3.5 3.5 2.3 4.6 1.7 23.6 2.2

Female 453 64.2 5.9 4.2 0.6 3.8 2.1 17.3 2.0

Year 5 Male 600 63.1 6.1 4.9 3.1 3.8 1.3 15.5 2.3

Female 695 63.5 9.0 5.6 2.9 2.0 1.2 14.6 1.1

Year 10 Male 411 53.0 12.3 9.7 8.6 5.1 0.7 9.7 0.9

Female 523 49.8 14.6 8.4 4.8 3.2 0.9 15.1 3.2

Table 160 Proportion of children consuming sports supplements

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 447 99.4 0 0.2 0 0.1 0.2 0 0

Female 452 99.8 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0

Year 5 Male 598 96.6 2.3 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.5 0 0

Female 690 93.3 1.3 2.6 1.6 0.7 0.1 0 0.5

Year 10 Male 411 74.3 8.9 6.1 5.2 3.1 0.9 1.4 0.1

Female 523 87.1 6.9 1.6 2.1 0.9 0.6 0.6 0.2

Table 161 Proportion of children consuming weight control supplements

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 450 100.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Female 453 100.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Year 5 Male 600 98.4 0.8 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.2 0 0

Female 693 96.8 0.8 1.0 0.5 0.2 0 0.3 0.4

Year 10 Male 411 95.5 0.8 2.2 0.2 0.4 0 0.9 0

Female 524 97.3 2.1 0.1 0 0.2 0 0 0.3

Table 162 Proportion of children consuming other dietary supplements

n Never < 1 per

month

1-3 per

month

1 per

week

2-4 per

week

5-6 per

week

1 per day ≥ 2 per

day

Year 1 Male 449 97.3 0.3 0 0.1 0.4 0 1.2 0.7

Female 453 97.7 0.6 0.5 0 0.5 0 0.7 0

Year 5 Male 600 96.4 1.4 0.6 0.1 0.2 0 1.1 0.2

Female 696 94.8 1.8 1.7 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.7 0.2

Year 10 Male 411 94.0 0.9 2.0 0.9 0.3 0 1.9 0.1

Female 524 94.1 2.0 0.1 1.3 0 0 2.3 0.2

Vitamin supplements were consumed at least one a day by approximately one in fi ve Year 1 children and one in six children in Years 5 and 10. The consumption of sports supplements was negligible in children in Years 1 and 5, however about 10% of Year 10 boys and just under 5% of Year 10 girls reported consuming sports supplements at least once per week.

Consumption of weight control supplements was also negligible in most children; the exception being Year 10 boys of whom 5% reported consumption at a frequency of once a month or more and 1% reported consuming weight control supplements on a daily basis. The consumption of “other” supplements was rare, with on average 3-5% of all children reporting some consuming them once a month or more.

83

Special Diets

The children were asked to report on whether they had been on a special diet over the previous 12months. Whilst over 90% of Year 1 and 5 children reported no to this question, 12% of Year 1 boys and 17% of Year 10 girls reported being on a special diet.

Table 163 Proportion of children reporting eating special foods or having a special diet over the previous

twelve months

n No Yes

Year 1 Male 467 92.1 7.9

Female 463 93.9 6.1

Year 5 Male 610 91.9 8.1

Female 702 93.2 6.7

Year 10 Male 414 88.0 12.0

Female 522 83.2 16.8

The reasons for the special diets are reported in Table 164. Nine possible reasons were offered and there was also space for children to add their own reasons (the options offered weren’t mutually exclusive).

Table 164 Reasons for eating special foods or having a special diet over the previous twelve months



Vegetarian 0.2 0.2 1.2 1.6 0.2 3.8

For asthma 0.9 0.2 1.4 1.1 0 0.2

For allergy 2.3 2.3 1.2 0.9 0.4 0.5

To avoid milk 1.9 1.9 1.1 1.1 1.3 0.3

To avoid wheat 1.3 1.4 1.4 0.9 1.8 0.6

For diabetes 0.2 0 0 0.3 1.1 0.8

Behaviour 3.2 0.9 1.7 1.1 1.2 0.5

For sport 0 0 0.3 0.1 4.2 2.7

To lose weight 0.2 0 1.7 1.2 2.5 8.4

To gain weight 0.8 0 0.2 0.2 3.1 0.3

Other 1.4 1.4 0.6 0.9 1.4 3.1

The reasons for special diets were similar across the sexes in Year groups, with a couple of exceptions. More boys than girls in Year 1 were reported being on special diets for behaviour reasons and more girls than boys in Year 10 reported being on diets to lose weight.

Reasons listed as ‘other’ fell under several main categories:wanting to eat healthier/ get fi tter and healthier• to avoid certain additives/ preservatives in the diet• to avoid lactose in the diet• to help with persistent stomach aches and pains• to reduce meat content of diet• to increase fruit and vegetable intake of diet• to reduce processed foods / to increase fi bre• to increase iron in the diet• to help with eczema•

84

Past Feeding Practices

Since the majority of children in Year 1 and 5 had their parents complete, or help complete, the FFQ, they were asked to report on how they had been fed as an infant (this was not included in the Year 10 questionnaire).

Table 165 Proportion of children who were breast-fed as an infant

n No Yes Don’t know

Year 1 Male 469 15.1 84.6 0.3

Female 464 14.6 85.4 0

Year 5 Male 606 14.8 81.9 3.2

Female 696 17.1 78.1 4.8

Table 166 Length of time children were breastfed (i.e. receiving breastmilk only and no infant formula or

other milk as their main drink)

n Did not

Breast feed

Less than 4

months

4-6 months 7-12

months

13-18

months

>18

months

Don’t know

Year 1 Male 461 15.5 25.1 22.4 25.3 7.4 3.6 0.7

Female 460 14.5 30.4 22.4 18.5 7.9 5.5 0.9

Year 5 Male 594 13.8 29.2 17.9 22.0 9.1 2.6 5.3

Female 677 17.1 21.8 21.9 19.0 7.0 5.2 7.8

Table 167 Age when children started eating solid foods

n Less than 4

months

4-6 months 7-12 months 13-18 months Don’t know

Year 1 Male 471 12.3 64.9 20.6 0.7 1.5

Female 466 11.1 69.1 17.7 0.8 1.3

Year 5 Male 600 17.6 57.3 17.8 2.6 4.7

Female 692 15.8 57.3 16.3 2.8 7.6

Information relating to breast feeding was obtained from Year 1 and Year 5 children only. About 80% of all Year 1 and Year 5 children had been breastfed, and of these 70% to 80% had been fully breastfed for 4 months or more. Approximately one in three children had been breast-fed for more than 6 months.

This survey relied on recall of breast feeding duration by parents, presumably to a large extent mothers. A number of studies have evaluated the accuracy of breast feeding duration by maternal recall. For example, in a study conducted in Brazil, 70 % of mothers accurately recalled breast feeding duration when their children were 4 years of age based on data collected when the child was 11 months of age. 44 In an Australian study almost 80% of mothers recalled accurately the duration of breast feeding to within 1 month when their offspring were 3 years of age on average. 45 In general correlation coeffi cients of around 0.90 have been reported for the relationship between prospectively recorded breast feeding duration and that recalled at a later date.

Solid foods were introduced mainly between 4 and 6 months of age. Approximately one in six children had received solid food before the age of 4 months.

5.0 Physical activity

Regular physical activity is an important part of physical, social and psychological development in

children. Weight-bearing activity is important to bone health, and moderate-to-vigorous activity is important for preventing diseases or conditions related to a sedentary lifestyle.

The Australian Physical Activity Guidelines for Children and Youth recommend at least one hour of moderate or vigorous physical activity each day and that children limit their use of electronic media for entertainment, such as watching television and videos/DVDs or using computer games or internet, to two hours per day.46

Physical activity levels were assessed using a physical activity questionnaire and by a pedometer, standard methods to assess physical activity behaviour at the population level and methods that are similar to those used in the 2003 WA CAPANS Survey.28 Different methods allow for various aspects of physical activity behaviour to be captured. The pedometer provides an objective measure of movement, whilst questionnaires can help provide more qualitative information about physical activity habits.

Pedometer diaryA pedometer is worn on the waist and measures the number of steps taken. It is used widely in children, adolescents and adults as a quantitative measure of physical activity. Each participant was given a pedometer and instructed on its use. Children were asked to use the pedometer for fi ve consecutive days including both weekdays and weekend days. Participants or their parents recorded the number of steps taken each day, the time the pedometer was worn, and whether the pedometer had been taken off during the day and why.

The overall compliance for the pedometer was good. A day’s recording was deemed valid if it had been recorded as worn for at least eight hours per day. More than 90% of all participants who agreed to the pedometer study completed a minimum of two days; 66% of Year 1 children, 75% of Year 5 children and 78% of Year 10 children recorded steps on four days or more.

Physical activity questionnaireChildren (or their parents for Year 1 children) completed a questionnaire about their physical activity during the previous seven days. They were provided with a list of named physical activities (31 for Years 1 and 5 children, and 35 for Year 10 children) and asked to indicate the number of times they performed each activity during the week and on the weekend. Questions also asked about participation in physical activity at school, whether the children walked to school, and other leisure pursuits (television, hobbies, etc.).

Children also indicated their participation in various activities during the preceding year. In order to assess whether the children were meeting the current physical activity guidelines, the children were asked to report the number of days in the past week on which they had engaged in physical activity or active play that caused their heart rate to rise or caused them to ‘huff and puff’. This was taken as an indicator of activity that was of a moderate or vigorous intensity.

Throughout the subsequent analyses of children’s activity behaviours, no consistent differences were observed between children in urban areas and children in rural areas.

85

86

5.1 Pedometer steps

The data in Figure 6 show the mean number of daily steps, defi ned as the mean number of steps per day for

each participant who wore the pedometer for eight hours or more, on four or fi ve days during the study period.

The same records were used to explore the difference in steps taken on a weekday compared with a weekend day.

Table 168 shows the mean number of daily steps and the corresponding mean number for type of day (weekday or weekend).

In each age group, boys accumulated more mean daily steps and more steps per day than girls on both weekdays and weekends. The difference between boys and girls by Year 10 was over 2,000 steps.

Year 1 children took more steps on weekends than on weekdays, but this was reversed in Year 5 and 10 children, who were more active on weekdays than on weekends. This trend was similar in boys and girls.

Whilst there are no current national step guidelines for children, there has been a suggestion in the international literature 48 that to maintain a healthy weight, girls aged 6-12 should aim for a target of 12000 steps, and boys of the same age, 15000 steps per day. No recommendations for older children exist. Using these targets, 27% of the boys in Year 1 and 42% of the girls in Year 1 achieved adequate steps. This increased to 40% of boys, and 53% of girls, in Year 5.

Table 168 Mean number of steps per day, per weekday and per weekend day, measured with a pedometer, by

year and sex

Steps n Mean daily steps

(SD)

Weekday

steps

Weekend

steps

Year 1 Male 306 13,184 (3,033) 12,956 13,798

Female 297 11,495 (3,082) 11,269 11,909

Year 5 Male 438 14,555 (4,216) 15,395 12,873

Female 566 12,518 (3,443) 12,869 11,702

Year 10 Male 265 12,966 (4,074) 13,847 11,747

Female 398 10,870 (3,254) 11,334 9844

Figure 6 Mean number of steps per day, measured with a pedometer, by Year and sex

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

Female

Male

1051

Year group

Me

an

da

ily

ste

ps

87

KEY POINTS

Boys on average took more steps than girls at all • ages, and this difference was greatest (more than 2,000 steps) in Year 10 children.

In terms of steps taken, Year 5 children were the • most active and Year 10 children the least active.

Year 1 children are more active on weekends than • during the week.

Year 5 and 10 children are more active during the • week than on weekends.

Using suggested international targets for daily • steps, approximately only three in ten Year 1 boys and four in ten Year 1 girls met physical activity targets. This increased to four in ten of Year 5 boys and just over half of Year 5 girls.

Throughout the analyses of children’s physical • activity behaviours, no consistent differences were observed between children in urban areas and children in rural areas.

88

Children were asked about the type of physical activities that they had participated in over the previous week. They were also asked to indicate what physical activities they usually participated in the previous year as a way of fi nding out about participation in seasonal-based activities and sports not undertaken at the time of the survey. Year 1 and 5 children were provided with a list of 31 activities and sports, and Year 10 children were provided with a list of 35 activities and sports. There was also space on the survey for the children to include any activity or sport not already on the list.

With the exclusion of school sport and PE, the proportion of children who reported not participating in any sport or physical activity, over the previous week and over the past year, decreased with age. The physical activities and sports were divided into two categories: i) sport, exercise and dance and ii) active play. ‘Sport, exercise and dance’ involved all team games, organised sports e.g. athletics, dance and aerobics. ‘Active play’ included activities such as playing outside, playing on equipment, bike riding, trampolining, rollerblading, skipping, skateboarding and jogging/running. The percentage of children reporting no involvement in these categories, over the previous 12 months, are shown in Figures 7 and 8.

Figure 7 Percentage of children by year and

gender who reported no involvement

outside of school in ‘sport, exercise or

dance’ over the previous year

Year 1 Female

Year 1 Male

Year 5 Female

Year 5 Male

Year 10 Female

Year 10 Male

0 5 10 15 20 25

Percentage (%)

One in fi ve Year 1 children reported no sport, exercise or dance (not including school sport or PE) over the previous year. This dropped to less than one in 10 children in Years 5 and 10. Similar rates were observed for participation over the previous week.

Viewed the other way, for the entire sample, 85.2% of all children reported some sport, exercise or dance, in the previous year (85.1% for males and 85.2% for females) and 83.6% in the previous week (83.1% for males and 84.1% for females). The most recent ABS study on children’s participation in leisure 47, reported that 69% of males and 58% of females surveyed had had involvement in organised sport outside of school. The higher fi gures for Queensland children may be partly attributable to inclusion of exercise and dance, and the fact that children were not specifi cally asked to tick activities that were outside of school hours. This said, the participation rates are also slightly higher than that reported in the 2003 CAPANS Survey 28, who found 81.6% of males and 76.8% of females had participated in sport, exercise and dance over the previous week.

Of interest, when participation in school sport and PE was included, past year participation rates in sport, exercise and dance increased to 92% for both males and females: increasing from 84% of Year 1 children to 95% of Year 10 children.

Participation in active play in the previous year is shown in Figure 8. Participation in active play decreased with age for both previous year and the past week.

Figure 8 Percentage of children by year and

gender who reported no involvement

outside of school in ‘active play’ over

the previous year

Year 1 Female

Year 1 Male

Year 5 Female

Year 5 Male

Year 10 Female

Year 10 Male

0 5 10 15 20 25

Percentage (%)

Five percent of Year 1, 3.5% of Year 5 and 17.9% of Year 10 children reported no active play over the previous week. There was little difference between males and

5.2 Physical activities and sports

89

females. These rates are slightly higher than those found in the 2003 CAPANS Survey 28, which reported 0.5-1.0% of primary school children recording no active

play and 7.9- 11.0% of secondary school children.The top 20 most cited activities for both the previous week and the previous year are shown in Tables 169-174.

Table 169 Participation in physical activities* over the previous week for Year 1 males and females

Male % Female %

Playing outside 89.7 Playing outside 89.9

Playing on playground equipment 86.3 Playing on playground equipment 86.5

Sports/PE at school 81.0 Sports/PE at school 85.7

Chores 73.0 Chores 71.0

Bike riding 71.9 Bike riding 68.0

Trampolining 58.8 Trampolining 58.7

Running/jogging 42.8 Skipping with a rope 53.2

Soccer 37.9 Dance 44.5

Walking 32.7 Running/jogging 38.7

Swimming (at a pool) 29.9 Walking 37.8

Skateboarding/rollerblading 27.6 Swimming (at a pool) 28.4

Athletics 22.1 Skateboarding/rollerblading 24.3

Skipping with a rope 19.9 Walking the dog 18.3

Handball/4 square 18.6 Athletics 19.1

Dance 14.5 Gymnastics 11.3

Walking the dog 14.0 Soccer 9.9

Rugby league 11.6 Handball/4 square 8.3

Tennis 11.0 Tennis 6.8

Cricket 10.5 Basketball 5.3

Australian rules football 8.7 Martial arts 3.9

* There were 31 listed physical activities to choose from and space for others, not listed, to be added

90

Table 170 Physical activities* that Year 1 males and females had ‘usually’ participated in over the previous

year

Male % Female %


Playing on playground equipment 75.0 Bike riding 71.4

Bike riding 67.5 Playing on playground equipment 71.3


Swimming (at a pool) 59.9 Swimming (at a pool) 61.3

Chores 58.6 Sports/PE at school 58.0

Sports/PE at school 57.9 Chores 57.5

Running/jogging 35.2 Skipping with a rope 49.8

Walking 34.7 Dance 39.0

Soccer 34.2 Walking 35.3

Skateboarding/rollerblading 29.6 Running/jogging 35.2


Skipping with a rope 21.8 Walking the dog 22.2

Cricket 18.5 Athletics 19.4

Walking the dog 17.1 Gymnastics 12.4

Handball/4 square 15.4 Soccer 8.0

Dance 14.0 Handball/4 square 7.8


Australian rules football 13.4 Basketball 4.9

Rugby league 10.8 Cricket 4.6

* There were 31 listed physical activities to chose from and space for others, not listed, to be added

For Year 1 children, common physical activities included general activities such as bike riding, playing outside, trampolining, skipping and swimming. The most played sports were soccer, athletics, handball and cricket for boys and gymnastics, soccer and athletics for girls.


Male % Female %




Running/jogging 63.5 Running/jogging 69.5


Handball/4 square 55.3 Walking 61.4

Soccer 52.7 Playing on playground equipment 60.6

Playing on playground equipment 49.1 Skipping with a rope 57.7

Walking 43.9 Trampolining 50.3

Skateboarding/rollerblading 42.5 Handball/4 square 47.3

Trampolining 42.4 Skateboarding/rollerblading 42.8

Athletics 35.5 Soccer 40.7

Rugby league 30.0 Dance 39.4

Swimming (at a pool) 26.1 Walking the dog 35.8

Walking the dog 25.9 Netball 35.6

Skipping with a rope 23.8 Athletics 36.8

Tennis 22.5 Swimming (at a pool) 33.3

Cricket 20.5 Basketball 22.9

AFL 19.0 Tennis 19.9

Basketball 17.9 Baseball/softball 16.3


91


year

Male % Female %




Swimming (at a pool) 62.0 Chores 71.5

Chores 59.0 Swimming (at a pool) 66.3


Handball/4 square 53.6 Playing on playground equipment 64.5

Playing on playground equipment 51.6 Skipping with a rope 64.0





Walking 44.7 Athletics 42.9

Walking the dog 34.4 Dance 42.6

Cricket 33.0 Walking the dog 40.6

Rugby league 29.8 Soccer 40.3

Skipping with a rope 29.4 Netball 40.3


AFL 23.0 Basketball 24.2

Basketball 18.3 Baseball/softball 22.6


For Year 5 children, common physical activities included general activities such as bike riding, playing outside, skipping and swimming. The most played sports were soccer, handball and athletics for boys and handball, soccer and athletics for girls.


Male % Female %



Running/jogging 40.3 Walking 49.9

Bike riding 38.1 Running/jogging 41.0

Soccer 31.6 Dance 31.9

Touch football 29.6 Walking the dog 27.3

Rugby league 29.3 Athletics 24.8

Athletics 27.3 Touch football 23.4

Walking 22.9 Netball 22.3

Basketball 22.7 Basketball 19.4

Walking the dog 20.6 Soccer 19.3


Handball/4 square 15.4 Swimming (at a pool) 15.4

Swimming (at a pool) 12.8 Bike riding 14.9

AFL 11.8 Volleyball 11.3

Rugby union 11.1 Aerobics 8.5


Volleyball 8.7 Cricket 4.6

Surfi ng 8.2 Scooter 4.4

Cricket 8.1 Hockey 4.2


92


year

Male % Female %



Bike riding 53.2 Walking 59.8

Swimming (at a pool) 48.3 Swimming (at a pool) 57.1


Soccer 42.8 Athletics 44.2

Touch football 41.4 Dance 37.8

Athletics 41.8 Walking the dog 36.2

Rugby league 39.4 Touch football 33.3

Walking 34.8 Soccer 33.1

Basketball 34.3 Netball 30.5

Cricket 33.1 Tennis 28.0

Walking the dog 30.8 Bike riding 26.9

Tennis 29.7 Basketball 25.5

Handball/4 square 28.6 Volleyball 21.7

Rugby union 24.7 Handball/4 square 17.4

Golf 22.6 Cricket 16.8

Skateboarding/rollerblading 18.0 Baseball/softball 14.3

Volleyball 17.2 Aerobics 14.2

AFL 17.0 Rollerblading 13.6


For Year 10 children, common physical activities included general activities such as bike riding, running, walking and swimming. The most played ‘sports’ were

soccer, touch football, rugby league and athletics for boys and athletics, touch football, soccer and netball for girls.

Table 175 Top 12 most frequently participated activities for Year 1 children (averaged across the whole study

sample)

Male Average number

of times per week

Female Average number

of times per week


Playing at playground 4.4 Playing at playground 4.6


Bike riding 3.5 Trampolining 3.1

Trampolining 3.1 Bike riding 3.0

Running around/jogging 2.2 Skipping 2.3

Walking 1.2 Running around /jogging 2.1

PE/ school sports 1.2 PE/ school sports 1.4


Skate-boarding/ rollerblading 1.0 Dance 1.0

Handball 0.5 Skate-boarding/ rollerblading 0.9

Skipping 0.5 Swimming 0.5

Frequency of physical activity and sports

As well as recording whether they had participated in certain physical activities over the previous week, the children were also asked to record the number of times they had done each specifi c activity during the week and at the weekend.

The total number of times for each activity was calculated, and averaged across the whole sample (i.e. whether the activity had been participated in or not). Year 10 children were also asked to record the time spent on each activity.

93

For both boys and girls in Year 1, the top twelve most frequently participated activities were amongst the top fi fteen of the most common activities listed in Table 169 i.e. they were activities that a lot of children did, and on average reported doing more than once a week. Simply ‘playing’ for children of this age was the major physical

activity, followed by bike riding and trampolining. On average children reported one session of PE or school sports per week. Soccer for boys, and dance for girls, was the only form of organised physical activity (apart from school PE/sports) that was engaged in, on average, once per week or more.

Table 176 Top 12 most frequently participated activities for Year 5 children (averaged across the whole study

sample)

Male Average number

of times per week


of times per week



Bike riding 3.8 Running around/ jogging 3.6

Running around /jogging 3.4 Bike riding 2.9

Handball 2.5 Trampolining 2.7


Trampolining 2.0 Playing at playground 2.3

Walking 1.8 Skipping 2.2

Skating/ rollerblading 1.8 Handball 1.7

Playing at playground 1.6 Skate-boarding/ rollerblading 1.6

PE/ school sports 1.6 Walking the dog 1.5

Rugby union 1.0 PE/ school sports 1.5

As with children in Year 1, for both boys and girls in Year 5, the top twelve most frequently participated activities were amongst the top fi fteen of the most common activities listed in Table 171, i.e. they were activities that a lot of children did, and on average reported doing more than once a week. Playing and running around were still reported as being frequent activities that children participate in at this age. Organised sport was more prominent than at Year 1, with boys in Year 5

reporting, on average, two or more sessions of soccer and handball, and handball was also reported to be played by girls more than once a week. Both boys and girls in Year 5 reported, on average just over one and a half sessions of PE or school sports in the past week.

As reported earlier, Year 10 children were also asked to record the time they had spent in the various activities over the past week.

Table 177 Top 12 most frequently participated activities over previous week for Year 10 children and time

(in minutes) spent on them (averaged across the whole study sample)

Male Average number

of times per

week

Mean time

(mins)


of times per

week

Mean time

(mins)

Chores 4.5 86 Chores 4.1 89

PE/ school sport 2.0 104 PE/ school sports 1.8 84

Running around/ jogging 1.8 36 Walking 1.6 52

Bike-riding 1.7 70 Running around/ jogging 1.1 32

Soccer 1.0 59 Walking the dog 1.0 23

Rugby league 0.9 52 Dancing 0.9 47

Cricket 0.9 20 Touch football 0.6 32

Walking 0.8 27 Netball 0.6 32

Walking the dog 0.8 25 Athletics 0.6 27

Touch football 0.8 30 Soccer 0.5 25

Handball 0.7 17 Swimming 0.5 20

Rugby union 0.6 25 Bike-riding 0.5 16

94

For Year 10 boys, the most frequently played sports and physical activities were predominantly amongst the top twelve most common activities (shown in Table 173), with the exception of cricket and rugby union. Organised sports were more prevalent amongst the list of top frequently played activities in this older age group.

For Year 10 girls, the most frequently participated activities were again amongst the most common activities: they were activities that were popular and

participated in at least once every two weeks. Year 10 girls were more likely than boys to report doing ‘lifestyle’ activities, such as walking, running, walking the dog and dancing at least once a week. Both boys and girls in Year 10 reported, on average, two sessions of PE or school sports per week.

The average time spent per week, across the whole sample, for all listed physical activities in Year 10 children is shown in Table 178.

Table 178 Average time (in minutes) spent on physical activities and sports over the previous week by Year

10 children.

Male Mean minutes per

week

Female Mean minutes per

week

PE/ School sport 104 Chores 89

Chores 86 PE/ School sport 84

Bike-riding 70 Walking 52

Soccer 59 Dancing 47

Rugby league 52 Running around/ jogging 32

Running around/ jogging 36 Netball 32

Touch football 30 Touch football 32

Tennis 28 Athletics 27

Walking 27 Soccer 25

Basketball 27 Swimming 20

Surfi ng 27 Walking the dog 23

Skateboarding 25 Basketball 19

Walking the dog 25 Bike-riding 16

Rugby union 24 Tennis 16

Athletics 24 Volleyball 10

Cricket 20 Aerobics 8

AFL 20 Baseball/ Softball 5

Handball 17 Hockey 5

Golf 16 Surf-lifesaving 5

Hockey 13 Surfi ng 5

Swimming 11 Cricket 4

Volleyball 7 Gym 4

Baseball/ Softball 5 Handball 4

Netball 5 Martial arts 3

Canoeing 5 Rugby league 3

Scooter 4 Rollerblading 2

Martial arts 3 Rugby union 2

Surf-lifesaving 2 Golf 2

Rowing 2 AFL 2

Dancing 2 Scooter 2

Rollerblading 1 Rowing 2

Gym 1 Skateboarding 2

Aerobics 1 Canoeing 1

Triathlon 1 Waterpolo 1

Waterpolo 1 Triathlon 0

The average time spent on various physical activities and sports again highlights the important contribution of school sport and PE towards overall time spent on physical activity per week.

Excluding chores and walking (either walking or walking the dog), the average time spent on active play (e.g. biking, skate-boarding, running) or sports over the previous week, was just over 10 hours for boys in Year 10, and just over 7 hours for girls in Year 10.

To determine how many Year 10 boys and girls were meeting physical activity recommendations, the number of self-reported minutes on all physical activities, over the previous week, were calculated for each Year 10 child. Table 179 shows the mean and standard deviation of accumulated time in physical activities.

Table 179 Accumulated time over previous week on all physical activities by Year 10 children

Male Minutes per week

mean (SD), median

Female Minutes per week

mean(SD), median

All activities 787 (531), 710 All activities 584 (416), 470

All activities (excluding chores,

walking, and walking the dog)

646 (470), 530 All activities (excluding chores,

walking, and walking the dog)

420 (342), 325

KEY POINTS

Nine out of 10 of the Queensland children • surveyed, reported being involved with sport, exercise or dance in the previous year.

The most recorded physical activity for Year 1 • children was playing outside, either as simple playing, skipping and trampolining, or playing on playground equipment.

Bike riding was also a popular physical activity • for children of all ages, apart from Year 10 girls.

Common sports across all ages were soccer and • athletics, with handball being popular among the younger children and touch football popular amongst the children in Year 10.

School-based sports and physical education (PE) • provided a signifi cant opportunity for physical activity, listed as fi rst or second activity for both boys and girls in Years 5 and 10.

For self–reported time spent in sports and • physical activity, just under two thirds of Year 10 boys were reaching a daily average of the required 60 minutes per day, compared to two fi fths of Year 10 girls.

Year 10 boys accumulated an average of just under 11 hours per week of physical activity excluding chores and walking, and Year 10 girls, 7 hours per week. The percentage who reached the national target of

60 minutes per day (420 minutes per week) was also calculated. Sixty-three percent of Year 10 boys accumulated 420 minutes in the previous week, compared to 41% of Year 10 girls.

95

96

Table 180 Self reported frequency of the number of days over the past seven days that children engaged in

physical activity or active play that raised their heart rate or caused them to huff and puff for a

total of 60 minutes or more per day

n

Number of days in past

week

Mean (median)

Percentage of children who reported

every day in past 7 days

%

Percentage of children who reported

3 days or more in past 7 days

%

Year 1

Male 420 3.0 (3.3) 16.5 53.4

Female 394 2.2 (2.0) 6.3 35.1

Year 5

Male 605 3.0 (3.0) 11.7 51.7

Female 696 3.0 (3.0) 9.5 53.5

Year 10

Male 405 3.5 (3.0) 12.5 65.9

Female 505 2.8 (3.0) 4.8 52.6

On average, children reported that they achieved this 60-minute target on three days of the previous week. The number of children who met the daily recommended level of activity decreased with age, and was higher amongst boys at all ages. The percentage of boys who were active for 60 minutes a day over the past week decreased from 16.5 % in Year 1 to 12.5% in Year 10 and in girls, from 6.3% in Year 1 to 4.8% in Year 10.The children were also asked to record how long they had spent on the previous day (or most recent

school day) ‘watching television, videos, DVDs or playing video or computer games for entertainment’ in daylight hours. The mean number of minutes recorded is shown in Table 181, along with the percentage of children who spent more than two hours on these activities. Children in years 1 and 5 recorded slightly more than 80 minutes of screen-based electronic media entertainment, whereas children in Year 10 reported on average just over 100 minutes on the previous day: Year 10 boys recorded an average of two hours.

Table 181 Reported time spent and the percentage of children who spent more than two hours on screen-

based electronic media for entertainment, during daylight hours in the previous day

n Mean (SD) number of minutes Median number of minutes Percentage of children who

reported spending over

2 hours

Year 1

Male 431 83 (75) 75 16.0

Female 418 84 (64) 60 17.5

Year 5

Male 588 91 (73) 90 26.6

Female 681 79 (72) 60 19.2

Year 10

Male 395 123 (103) 120 39.3

Female 498 91 (92) 60 27.0

The percentage of children who exceeded two hours of screen-based electronic media for entertainment on the previous day increased with age from 17% of Year 1 children to 23% of Year 5 children to 33% of children in Year 10. Almost two in fi ve boys in Year 10 spent more than two hours of the previous day on screen-based electronic media for entertainment.

The children were asked how many days of the past seven days had they engaged in physical activity or active play that raised their heart rate or caused them to ‘huff and puff’ for a total of 60 minutes per day. This was used as an indication of time spent in

moderate or vigorous physical activity and was compared with the recommendations shown on the previous page. The average number of days which they achieved this recommendation is shown by Year and sex in Table 180.

5.3 Physical activity patterns and electronic media for entertainment

97

Other leisure activities and past-times

Further details of time and type of screen based entertainment and other leisure activities were also collected. The children were asked to estimate the number of minutes they had spent on specifi ed sedentary activities and leisure past-times, over the

previous seven days. The children were asked to think about an average school day and also both Saturday and Sunday. The mean and median number of minutes spent on various such activities are shown in Tables 182 to 184.

Table 182 Mean (and median) time spent, in minutes, on leisure activities during the previous week for

Year 1 children

Year 1 School Day Saturday Sunday

Male

(mins)

Female

(mins)

Male

(mins)

Female

(mins)

Male

(mins)

Female

(mins)

Watch TV show 97 (60) 92 (60) 85 (60) 91 (60) 74 (60) 77 (60)

Watch videos’s/ DVDs 19 (0) 17 (0) 60 (0) 65 (60) 50 (0) 54 (50)

Play video games 11 (0) 2 (0) 31 (0) 8 (0) 26 (0) 5 (0)

Use a computer for fun (chat, surf, games, MSN) 9 (0) 8 (0) 15 (0) 11 (0) 11 (0) 10 (0)

Study, homework or extra tutoring 50 (30) 38 (30) 6 (0) 5 (0) 5 (0) 4 (0)

Read for fun 26 (15) 27 (15) 14 (0) 22 (15) 13 (0) 18 (10)

Chat on phone / texting / SMS 1 (0) 2 (0) 1 (0) 2 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0)

Hang out out home, park or shopping centre 84 (0) 80 (0) 98 (0) 112 (0) 86 (0) 106 (0)

Do hobbies, craft 21 (0) 19 (0) 26 (0) 43 (30) 24 (0) 37 (0)

Music lesson, practice 4 (0) 3 (0) 1 (0) 2 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0)

Travel in a car, train, bus or boat/ferry 46 (30) 44 (30) 38 (30) 43 (30) 36 (30) 39 (30)

Go to church or Sunday school 2 (0) 2 (0) 1 (1) 2 (0) 15 (0) 13 (0)

Table 183 Mean (and median) time spent, in minutes, on leisure activities during the previous week for Year

5 children


Male

(mins)

Female

(mins)

Male

(mins)

Female

(mins)

Male

(mins)

Female

(mins)

Watch TV show 109 (90) 105 (60) 117 (120) 101 (60) 108 (90) 84 (60)


Play video games 28 (0) 6 (0) 60 (30) 17 (0) 58 (30) 15 (0)



Read for fun 29 (15) 36 (20) 18 (0) 26 (10) 17 (0) 25 (0)



Do hobbies, craft 17 (0) 22 (0) 27 (0) 26 (0) 24 (0) 24 (0)

Music lesson, practice 17 (10) 27 (10) 5 (0) 10(0) 4 (0) 10 (0)



98

Table 184 Mean (and median) time spent, in minutes, on leisure activities during the previous week for Year

10 children


Male

(mins)

Female

(mins)

Male

(mins)

Female

(mins)

Male

(mins)

Female

(mins)

Watch TV show 156 (120) 138 (120) 145 (120) 109 (90) 149 (120) 108 (90)


Play video games 37 (0) 4 (0) 73 (0) 6 (0) 57 (0) 8 (0)



Read for fun 21 (0) 29 (0) 13 (0) 19 (0) 13 (0) 17 (0)



Do hobbies, craft 34 (0) 27 (0) 49 (0) 29 (0) 41 (0) 19 (0)

Music lesson, practice 14 (0) 22 (0) 5 (0) 9 (0) 5 (0) 7 (0)



KEY POINTS

Over the week before the survey: The percentage of children who self-reported •

meeting the daily recommendations of 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity over the past week decreased with age and was higher in boys than girls at all ages.

One in six Year 1 boys were active for an hour • every day and this dropped to one in eight by Year 10. One in 15 Year 1 girls were active for an hour every day and this decreased to one in 20 by Year 10.

On the school day before the survey: The average Queensland child, aged 5 to 17, •

spent 90 minutes per day on screen-based electronic media for entertainment with boys on average spending more time than girls.

Time spent on screen-based electronic media • increased with age. More than two in fi ve boys and one in four Year 10 girls exceeded the current daily recommendations.

These data confi rm that television viewing is one of the major leisure activities enjoyed by children and a leisure pursuit that increases with age. These data also demonstrate increasing time spent on all electronic media entertainment as children get older, with boys in Year 10 spending on average more than three hours per day on TV, videos and DVD’s and electronic games. There was also a marked increase for Year 10 children in the use of computers for chatting, surfi ng and games; reported to be as much as 60 minutes per day or more on both weekdays and weekend days, for both boys and girls. It was notable too that Year 10 girls reported

spending, on average, an hour per day on the phone, either chatting or texting, and this was double that of Year 10 boys.

The second major leisure activity was simply ‘hanging out’, either at home, in the park or at a shopping centre. This took up on average 2 hours of the day on weekend days for Year 10 boys and girls. Whilst more time was allocated to studying in the older children, notably those in Year 10, hobbies and travelling changed little with age.

In general: Television viewing is the predominant leisure •

behaviour of Queensland children and is a leisure habit that children spend more time on with age.

Time spent on all electronic media increases with • age, with Year 10 children spending three to four

hours per week day and weekend day on a variety • of electronic media.

Simply ‘hanging out’ is how Year 10 defi ned • spending up to two hours of each day over the weekends

99

5.4 Self-reported activity levels

The children were asked to self-report on how often they were very active at specifi c occasions over the past week:

At school sports and PE• At breaks at school (morning & afternoon/ lunch)• After school/ in the evenings/ at weekends•

School Sports/ PE

The children were asked to report how often they were very active in school sports or PE (very active was defi ned as activity that raised their heart rate or caused them to ‘huff and puff’).

Table 185 Self-reported perception of being ‘very active’ in school sports or PE over the previous week

n Didn’t do

Sports/ PE

Hardly ever Sometimes Quite often Always Don’t Know

Year 1 Male 441 2.2 2.7 25.5 27.5 19.6 22.5

Female 428 2.3 2.8 30.3 30.3 14.5 19.8

Year 5 Male 625 2.7 5.5 27.1 36.7 27.7 0.3

Female 720 3.3 6.3 26.2 36.4 27.6 0.2

Year 10 Male 415 13.0 5.1 22.4 35.7 23.8 0

Female 528 14.6 7.8 26.4 34.6 16.6 0

Breaks at school:

The children were asked about what they mostly did during the morning/afternoon break and during the lunchbreak whilst at school (besides eating food).

i) Morning/ Afternoon

Table 186 Self-reported activity during a usual morning or afternoon break at school over the previous week

n Sat down

(talking/

reading/

study)

Stood or

walked

around

Ran or

played a

little

Ran or

played quite

a bit

Ran or

played hard

most of the

time

Don’t know

Year 1 Male 445 5.7 1.9 26.9 41.5 17.9 6.1

Female 436 8.7 7.7 37.1 33.7 7.3 5.5

Year 5 Male 620 6.8 7.1 24.6 27.6 33.9 0

Female 716 11.2 11.4 28.4 29.7 19.3 0

Year 10 Male 416 24.7 36.3 18.4 13.7 6.9 0

Female 525 36.0 49.4 8.9 3.8 1.6 0.3

There was a clear trend for both morning/afternoon break and lunch break for the children, both boys and girls, to report being less active as they got older. Most notable were the Year 10 girls, of whom more than 75%, or over three in four, reported either sitting down

or standing and walking around as their predominant activity during the break. The most active group of children in school break times were the Year 1 boys.

100

ii) Lunchbreak

Table 187 Self-reported activity during a usual lunch break at school over the previous week

n Sat down

(talking/

reading/

study)

Stood or

walked

around

Ran or

played a

little

Ran or

played quite

a bit

Ran or

played hard

most of the

time

Played

organised

sport

Year 1 Male 429 1.0 0.8 10.1 48.5 39.1 0.5

Female 418 2.8 2.6 24.7 52.8 16.7 0.4

Year 5 Male 621 3.5 2.7 12.2 22.7 42.9 16.0

Female 717 4.9 9.3 17.4 29.5 28.3 10.6

Year 10 Male 412 20.7 35.7 12.7 13.0 6.1 11.8

Female 528 33.1 50.7 6.7 5.3 1.8 2.4

After school

The children were asked on how many days immediately after school, in the previous week, did they participate in sports, dance or play games in which they were very active. Again, the criteria for very active was whether the activity raised their heart rate of caused them to ‘huff and puff’. They were given a choice of different categories; none, one day in the last week, two or three days in the last week, 4 days, or fi ve days. The responses are shown in the Tables below.

Over half of all children reported doing activity in the afternoon straight after school that they considered ‘very active’ on at least two or three of the previous fi ve school days. While the differences with age or sex were slight, they were present; the percentage of children who reported no days of being very active rose with age and in turn, the percentage who reported being very active every day after school decreased with age.

Table 188 Self-reported frequency of being ‘very active’ in the time straight after school over the previous

week.

n None One day Two or three

days

Four days Five days

Year 1 Male 460 9.7 16.1 41.6 11.9 20.7

Female 458 13.0 17.4 43.4 14.2 11.9

Year 5 Male 624 19.9 20.3 31.4 11.1 17.2

Female 717 18.1 20.7 37.8 12.0 11.4

Year 10 Male 417 16.1 14.7 34.2 16.2 18.7

Female 526 21.3 21.4 38.0 12.3 6.9

In the evenings

The children were also asked on how many evenings, in the previous week, did they participate in sports, dance or play games in which they were very active. Again, the

criteria for very active was whether the activity raised their heart rate of caused them to ‘huff and puff’.

Table 189 Self-reported frequency of being ‘very active’ in the evenings over the previous week.

n None One day Two or three

days

Four or fi ve

days

Six or seven

days

Year 1 Male 460 48.6 21.1 20.1 4.7 5.5

Female 457 59.7 18.9 15.3 3.7 2.5

Year 5 Male 622 37.8 20.9 26.1 9.1 6.0

Female 718 32.4 26.9 26.9 9.0 4.8

Year 10 Male 413 26.6 20.7 34.8 11.2 6.5

Female 524 31.6 29.0 28.1 8.9 2.3

101

KEY POINTS

Across all self-reported activities, with the • exception of evenings, Year 10 girls were more likely to report being less active compared to Year 10 boys and younger girls

Half of all children surveyed reported that they • were very active after school on at least two or three days in the previous week and a third of all Year 5 and 10 children active at least two to three evenings in the week.

Two thirds of Year 5 and 10 children and a half of Year 1 children spent at least one evening in the week in which they were very active. On average one in three of

all children self-reported being very active on at least two or three evenings in the previous week.

At weekends

As per evening activity, the children were also asked to refl ect on the past weekend and report how many

times they had been very active.

Table 190 Self-reported frequency of being ‘very active’ over the previous week.

n None One time Two or three

times

Four or fi ve

times

Six or more

times

Year 1 Male 459 9.6 23.0 41.8 15.8 9.9

Female 454 12.5 21.6 48.9 10.0 7.0

Year 5 Male 621 12.0 25.4 38.2 15.3 9.1

Female 712 14.2 25.7 37.7 13.8 8.6

Year 10 Male 413 14.9 28.7 41.8 9.0 5.7

Female 524 28.9 34.4 28.7 5.6 2.4

One in ten Year 1 children and one in eight Year 5 children reported no time spent being very active on the previous weekend. This was higher still in Year 10, with one in seven boys and just under one in three girls reporting no activity which raised their heart rate. However, some

children were very active. Over 60% of Year 1 children reported being active on at least two or three occasions over the weekend, though this decreased with age to just over 50% of Year 5 children and 50% of Year 10 boys and just over a third of Year 10 girls.

102

5.5 Active transport

Children recorded the number of times they had walked and the number of times they had cycled to or from school in the previous week. Table 191 shows the percentage of children who had walked or cycled between home and school at least once in the past week, and those that had done so every day.

The number of children who had walked or cycled to school in the previous week increased with age; 22% of Year 1 children, 36% of Year 5 children and 42% of Year 10 children had walked or cycled at least once in the past week.

Table 191 Percentage of children engaging in ‘active transport’ to or from school over the previous week

n Percentage who

had not walked or

cycled in previous

week

(%)

Percentage who

had walked at

least once

(%)

Percentage who

had walked every

day

(%)

Percentage who

had cycled at least

once

(%)

Percentage who

had cycled every

day

(%)

Year 1

Male 479 79.2 16.1 4.4 4.3 0.6

Female 475 74.1 22.1 5.4 2.3 0.3

Year 5

Male 647 68.0 22.1 6.0 12.1 1.9

Female 742 62.5 27.0 5.1 7.8 0.7

Year 10

Male 415 58.7 34.9 11.5 13.0 3.3

Female 527 57.2 42.1 13.8 1.8 0.1

Children were also asked how they had got to school on the day of the survey and how they had got home from school on the day before the survey. Similar to the fi ndings shown in Table 189 about the previous week, the percentage of children who had either walked or cycled (all of the way or part of the way) to school on the day of the survey increased with age, with 14.2% and 13.2% of Year 1 boys and girls, 22.9% and 23.2% of Year 5 boys and girls and 36.9 and 35.1% of Year 10 boys and girls respectively reporting active transport.

Getting home from school followed a similar pattern; 16.7% and 15.5 % of Year 1 boys and girls, 26.7% and 27.6% of Year 5 boys and girls and 41.1% and 45.4% of Year 10 boys and girls respectively either walked or cycled all or part of the way home from school.

Table 192 and 193 shows the percentage of children who had used either a car or public transport to get to school on the day of the survey or from school on the day before the survey.

Table 192 Percentage of children who used a car or public transport to get to school on the day of the survey

n Percentage who

travelled by car*

Percentage who

travelled by bus*

Percentage who

travelled by train/

ferry *

Percentage who

walked to bus,

train or ferry

Percentage who

cycled to bus,

train or ferry

Year 1

Male 460 77.7 5.6 0.0 1.5 0.1

Female 459 77.8 5.4 0.0 2.3 0.0

Year 5

Male 623 63.2 8.8 0.6 3.1 0.5

Female 717 66.5 9.1 0.3 2.4 0.1

Year 10

Male 416 38.8 28.0 3.3 13.4 0.6

Female 522 49.1 20.0 2.1 18.3 0.0

* these are not mutually exclusive i.e. some children may have been driven part of the way and then taken a bus

Table 193 Percentage of children who used a car or public transport to get home from school on the day

before the survey

n Percentage who

travelled by car*

Percentage who

travelled by bus*

Percentage who

travelled by train/

ferry *

Percentage who

walked or cycled

to bus

Percentage who

walked or cycled

to train/ ferry

Year 1

Male 460 75.2 5.5 0.0 1.9 0.0

Female 458 74.4 5.6 0.0 2.7 0.0

Year 5

Male 620 54.6 13.9 0.0 4.4 0.5

Female 717 60.8 10.2 0.0 3.9 0.1

Year 10

Male 416 32.5 30.6 3.3 15.7 1.0

Female 523 34.0 23.3 2.0 22.4 0.0

* these are not mutually exclusive i.e. some children may have been driven part of the way and then taken a bus

Being driven to and from school by car was the mode of transport for just over three-quarters of Year 1 children. Half of Year 5 children and about a third of Year 10 children were driven to and from school. Use of public transport increased with age, with approximately one in four Year 10 children using the bus to get to and from

school, and more than one in three using some form of public transport on their route to and from school. Children, at all ages, were more likely to use public transport to get home from school than to get to school from home.

KEY POINTS

5% of Years 1 and 5 children engaged in active • transport to and from school on a daily basis.

20% of Years 1 and 5 children engaged in active • transport to or from school at least once a week.

75% of Year 1 children reported no participation • in active transport to or from school in the previous week.

Participation in active transport increased with • age; more than one-third of Year 10 children participated in active transport at least once a week and over 10% either cycled or walked to and from school daily.

On the day of the survey, over 75% of Year 1 • children had been driven to school by car.

On the day of the survey, use of public transport • to get to school increased with age, with more than one in three Year 10 children using some form of public transport on the route to or from school.

103

104

The children were asked whether they agreed or disagreed to statements concerning their current physical activity and their future physical activity. A category for those who ‘didn’t know’ was also

provided. The following two tables present data for those who agreed with the statements provided about both current and future physical activity.

5.6 Perceptions about physical activity

Table 194 Statements about current physical activity; percentage of children who agreed with the following

comments about physical activity and/or sport



I do a lot of physical activity 88.0 84.0 81.5 72.6 80.9 55.4

I look funny when I am physically active 12.0 10.3 11.3 12.3 16.9 28.0

I don’t have enough time for physical activity 24.2 19.8 6.3 6.3 11.2 15.6

I prefer to watch TV or play electronic games 35.1 30.5 23.2 13.6 15.5 12.8

I don’t have anyone to be physically active with 11.1 9.0 11.7 12.8 16.9 20.4

I don’t like physical activity 9.5 8.0 5.8 4.2 3.7 8.1

There are no parks or sports grounds near where I live 14.8 16.7 19.6 16.2 18.1 19.8

The other kids make fun of me when I am physically active 9.4 7.7 6.9 5.2 5.3 5.5

I don’t think I’m very good at physical activity 11.3 10.3 9.4 10.2 9.0 22.0

I have a health problem that prevents me from being physically active 2.6 1.5 3.8 2.9 3.8 5.9

I have an injury that prevents me from being physically active 0.8 0.9 3.1 3.8 6.0 8.0

I am scared I might get hurt if I played sport 11.7 13.6 6.3 7.6 3.4 6.2

I don’t have proper clothing or shoes to play sport 5.3 3.1 4.0 3.2 5.2 6.8

I don’t like how being active makes me feel (hot, sweaty) 18.5 18.5 9.4 15.7 4.0 12.8

I don’t feel safe being physically active outside my home 4.1 8.2 4.8 5.3 1.9 3.3

Table 195 Statements about future physical activity; percentage of children who agreed with the following

comments about how being physically active might affect them over the next year



Keep me healthy 96.9 97.4 95.4 97.8 98.3 98.2

Help me improve my learning 74.6 75.9 62.2 67.6 62.8 61.0

Improve my appearance 69.2 69.6 69.2 68.4 83.2 82.6

Make me feel good about myself 85.5 87.8 87.4 89.2 89.4 88.8

Make or keep me fi t 94.0 93.7 95.7 95.4 98.0 96.8

Prevent me from doing other things I like more 18.3 16.9 21.8 19.6 20.9 23.5

Help me lose weight or help me control my weight 51.2 58.6 75.5 75.7 68.8 81.3

Let me have a lot of fun 95.4 95.6 93.9 95.9 89.3 78.5

Make my parents happy 87.7 90.4 83.0 82.5 59.3 52.6

Help me spend time with my friends 91.4 92.9 81.4 78.2 76.0 58.8

Help me make new friends 86.8 90.8 80.8 78.7 72.8 68.0

Current physical activity

There was similarity across ages for many statements, in particular being concerned about getting hurt, not having the right clothing, having other kids make fun of them and having no parks or sports grounds near them, changed little across age or gender. Other statements had marked changes across ages. Girls in Year 10 were much less likely to report doing a lot of activity and more likely to think that they were not very good at

physical activity and were more conscious about how they looked during physical activity. Both boys and girls in Year 10 were less likely to prefer playing electronic games over physical activity compared to children in Years 1 and 5 and more likely to report not having anyone to be physically active with.

105

Future physical activity

In thinking about future activity, there was similarity across ages for many statements. The majority of children believed that being physically active over the next year would keep them healthy, keep them fi t and make them feel good about themselves. Whilst about 70% of Year 1 and 5 children felt that being active would improve their appearance, this was thought by over 80% of Year 10 children. This is also refl ected by over

80% of Year 10 girls who believed that physical activity would help them lose or maintain weight; this belief lessened with age, with only just over half of Year 1 children agreeing with this statement. Having fun and spending time with friends, old and new, was seen by most Year 1 and 5 children as something they would get out of being active; this was not such a dominant belief in Year 10 children.

KEY POINTS

Most children reported doing that they already did • a lot of physical activity, with the exception of Year 10 girls, where only half reported doing so

One in six children reported there being no parks • or recreation grounds nearby to play

Less than 5% of all children perceived that it was • unsafe to be active outside their home

The majority of children believed being active was • important to keep them healthy

Three quarters of Year 5 and Year 10 children • associated physical activity as being important in maintaining their body weight.

106

This data set was collected over a six-month period in 2006 by fi ve fi eld teams comprising 4-6 research assistants. We are grateful to the school systems, schools, teachers, students and their families who so enthusiastically embraced this project. Their cooperation was essential to the success of the Survey.

The data in this Report give a snapshot of key patterns of BMI, nutrition, food habits and physical activity for Queensland children aged 5-17 years. Where appropriate, comparisons were made with comparable data from the 1985 ACHPER Survey 35 and the more recent surveys in Western Australia 28 and New South Wales. 27 A summary of the fi ndings is given in the Executive Summary on pages 11-13.

This Healthy Kids Queensland Survey provides data that will be used to inform health policies for the benefi t of all Queenslanders. Ideally this cross-sectional project will be repeated in subsequent years to provide Queensland with a thorough, longitudinal database of patterns of physical activity and nutrition in Queensland children.

6.0 Concluding comments

107

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21. Behets D. Comparison of more and less effective

teaching behaviors in secondary physical education.

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22. Blanksby B, Parker H, Bradley S, Ong V. Children’s

readiness for learning front crawl swimming. Aust J Sci

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23. National Health & Medical Research Council. Dietary

Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia.

Canberra: NHMRC, 2003.

24. Bonjour JP, Carrie A, Ferrari S, Clavien H, Slosman D,

Theintz G, et al. Calcium-enriched foods and bone mass

in pre-pubertal girls. J Clin Invest 1997;99:1287-1294.

25. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Rural,

regional and remote health: a guide to remoteness

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Grove, CA: Duxbury Press, 1999:221-253.

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27. Booth M, Okely AD, Denney-Wilson E, Hardy L, Yang B,

Dobbins T. NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition

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H. Physical Activity and Nutrition Levels in Western

Australian Children and Adolescents Report. Perth,

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29. Davies PSW, Roodveldt R, Marks G. Standard methods

for the collection and collation of anthropometric data

in children. Canberra: Commonwealth Department of

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obesity worldwide: international survey. BMJ

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www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhanes/growthcharts/

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Statistics, 1998.

37. Goran MI, Gower BA, Treuth M, Nagy T. Prediction of

intra-abdominal adipose tissue in healthy pre-pubertal

children. Int J Obes (Lond) 1998;22:549-558.

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to Healthy Eating. Canberra: Department of Health and

Aged Care, 1998.

39. National Health and Medical Research Council. Nutrient

Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand

including Recommended Dietary Intakes. Canberra:

NHMRC, 2006.

40. Goldberg GR, Black AE, Jebb SA, Cole TJ, Murgatroyd PR,

Coward WA, et al. Critical evaluation of energy intake

data using fundamental principles of energy physiology:

1. Derivation of cut off limits to identify under recording.

Eur J Clin Nutr. 1991;45:569-581.

41. Black AE. Critical evaluation of energy intake using the

Goldberg cut off for energy intake: basal metabolic rate.

A practical guide to its calculation, use and limitations.

Int J Obes. 2000(24):1119-1130.

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intake as determined using the doubly labelled water

technique. Br J Nutr 2001;85(4):415-430.

43. Cook T, Rutishauser IHE, Seelig M. Comparable data on

food and nutrient intake and physical measurements

from the 1983, 1985 and 1995 national nutrition surveys.

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Aged Care, 2001.

44. Huttly, SRA, Barros FC, Victoria CG et al, Do mothers

overestimate breast feeding duration? An example

of recall bias from a study in southern Brazil. Am J

Epidemiol 1990;132: 572-575

45. Eaton-Evans J, Dugdale, AE. Recall by mothers of the

birth weights and feeding of their children. Hum Nutr

Appl Nutr 1986;40: 1717-175.

46. Department of Health and Aging. Australia’s physical

activity recommendations for children and young

people, 2005.

47. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Children's participation

in cultural and leisure activities: April 2006. Report

4901.0; Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006.

48. Tudor-Locke C, Pangrazi R, Corbin C, Rutherford WJ,

Vincent S, Raustorp A, et al. BMI referenced standards

for recommended pedometer-determined steps/day in

children. Prev Med 2004;38:857-864.

109

Appendix I Classifi cation of Food GroupsFoods and beverages from the 24-hour food record were classifi ed into major food categories according to the classifi cation system used in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey.36

Major Food Category Sub-Major Food Category Example

Non-alcoholic beverages Tea Black tea, white tea, herbal tea

Coffee and coffee substitutes Black coffee, white coffee, coffee substitutes

Fruit and vegetable juices and drinks Apple juice, pineapple fruit drink, cordial

Soft drinks, fl avoured mineral waters

and electrolyte drinks

Lemonade, tonic water, fruit-fl avoured mineral water,

sports drinks

Mineral waters and water Natural mineral water, bottled water, tap water

Water with other additions as a

beverage

Drinking chocolate (and other beverage fl avours) made

with water

Cereals and cereal products Flours and other cereal grains and

starches

Cornmeal, couscous, bulgar

Regular breads and rolls Bread, bread roll, bagel

Breakfast cereals, plain, single source Bran, wheat breakfast biscuits, puffed rice, corn fl akes

Fancy breads, fl at breads, English style

muffi ns and crumpets

Lavash bread, cheese-topped bread, focaccia, fruit

bread, tortilla

Pasta and pasta products Ravioli, wholemeal pasta, rice noodles

Rice and rice products Rice, rice cake, fl avoured rice

Breakfast cereals, mixed sources Muesli, wheat fl akes with added fruit and nuts,

breakfast bar

Breakfast cereal, hot porridge type Regular oats, oats with honey, cooked semolina

Cereal-based products and

dishes

Sweet biscuits Shortbread, chocolate biscuits, homemade chocolate

chip biscuits

Savoury biscuits Water cracker, crispbread

Cakes, buns, muffi ns, scones, cake-

type desserts

Cake, sweet bun, brioche, pudding, slice, savoury, dumpling, sweet

dumpling

Pastries Croissant, apple pie, danish pastry, quiche, meat pie,

spinach and cheese triangle

Mixed dishes where cereal is the major

ingredient

Pizza, commercial hamburger, burrito, spring roll, packet pasta and

sauce, lasagne, fried rice

Batter-based products Pancakes, waffl e, apple fritter, doughnut

Fats and oils Dairy fats Butter, ghee, dairy blend

Margarine Margarine

Vegetable oil Vegetable oil, sesame oil, olive oil

Other fats Dripping, lard, copha, solid frying fat

Unspecifi ed fats Unspecifi ed spreads

Fish and seafood products

and dishes

Fin fi sh (excluding canned) Fried fl athead, poached bream, baked ling, smoked

salmon

Crustacea and molluscs (excluding

canned)

Abalone, calamari, mussel, oyster, snail

Other sea and freshwater foods Roe, eel

Packed (canned and bottled) fi sh and

seafood

Canned anchovy, canned salmon

Fish and seafood products Battered and crumbed fi sh, salmon patty, fi sh stick

Mixed dishes with fi sh or seafood as

the major component

Tuna mornay, kedgeree, prawn toast, fi sh casserole,

paella with seafood

110


Fruit products and dishes Pome fruit Fresh pear, canned apple, stewed quince

Stone fruit Apricot, cherry, peach, plum

Tropical fruit Banana, pineapple, mango, pawpaw

Other fruit Date, fi g, grape, melon, passionfruit

Mixtures of two or more groups of fruit Fruit salad, canned two fruits

Dried fruit, preserved fruit Sultana, banana chip, dried peach

Mixed dishes where fruit is the major

component

Glace fruit, toffee apple, fruit crumble

Egg products and dishes Eggs Fried egg, poached egg, quail egg

Dishes where egg is the major

ingredient

Scrambled egg, omelette, souffl e

Egg substitutes and dishes Egg substitute

Meat, poultry and game

products and dishes

Muscle meat Beef, corned beef, lamb, pork, bacon, ham, veal

Game and other carcase meat Kangaroo, rabbit, venison

Poultry and feathered game Chicken, turkey, duck, quail, emu

Organ meats and offal products and

dishes

Liver, kidney, tongue, brain, black pudding, pate

Sausages, frankfurters and saveloys Beef sausage, frankfurt

Processed meat Processed delicatessen meats, ham paste, canned

corned beef

Mixed dishes where beef or veal is the

major component

Beef curry, veal casserole, hamburger patty, pork and

veal meatballs

Mixed dishes where lamb, pork, bacon,

ham is the major component

Lamb meatballs, pork stir-fry, pork sausage

Mixed dishes where poultry or game is

the major component

Chicken curry, rabbit stew, satay chicken

Milk products and dishes Dairy milk Milk, goats milk, evaporated milk, powdered milk

Yoghurt Yoghurt, yoghurt dip, buttermilk

Cream Cream, sour cream, mock cream, sour cream-based dip

Cheese Cottage cheese, camembert cheese, cheese fondue

Frozen milk products Ice cream, thickshake, frozen yoghurt

Other dishes where milk or a milk

product is the major component

Creme caramel, custard, baked rice custard,

cheesecake, mousse

Milk substitutes Soy beverages, tofu-based ice confection, soy cheese

Flavoured milks Egg fl ip, milkshake, fl avoured milk, smoothie

Soups Soup Homemade broth, reconstituted vegetable soup

Dry soup mix Tomato soup mix, chicken and noodle instant dry mix

Canned condensed soup Condensed minestrone soup

Seed and nut product and

dishes

Seed and seed products Pumpkin seed, sesame seed, tahini

Nut and nut products Cashew nuts, peanut butter, coconut cream

Savoury sauces and

condiments

Gravies and savoury sauces Fish stock, gravy, black bean sauce, tomato sauce,

white sauce, simmer sauce, commercial pasta sauce

Pickles, chutneys and relishes Apple sauce, mustard, mint jelly, olives, pickles

Salad dressings Mayonnaise, salad dressing, vinegar

Stuffi ngs Commercial stuffi ng, rice and nut stuffi ng

111


Vegetable products and

dishes

Potatoes Cooked potato, canned potato, hot potato chips, mashed potato,

potato patty, potato salad

Cabbage, caulifl ower and similar

brassica vegetables

Broccoli, cabbage, caulifl ower, sauerkraut

Carrot and similar root vegetables Beetroot, carrot, parsnip, radish, sweet potato

Leaf and stalk vegetables Alfalfa, bean sprout, chives, lettuce, parsley, spinach

Peas and beans Green beans, peas, snow peas

Tomato and tomato products Raw tomato, sun-dried tomato, tomato paste

Other fruiting vegetables Pumpkin, zucchini, avocado, cucumber, eggplant, okra

Other vegetable and vegetable

combinations

Corn, mushrooms, seaweed, garlic, onion, shallot, mixed

vegetables, Caesar salad, coleslaw

Dishes where vegetable is the major

component

Caulifl ower in cheese sauce, vegetables in Thai sauce,

ratatouille, stuffed zucchini

Legumes and pulse

products and dishes

Mature legumes and pulses Kidney beans, chick peas, lentils

Mature legume and pulse products

and dishes

Pappadum, baked beans, tofu, vegetarian sausages

Snack foods Potato snacks Potato crisps, potato straw

Corn snacks Corn chips, popcorn

Extruded snacks Pork rind snack, prawn crackers, cheese fl avour extruded snacks

Pretzels and other snacks Pretzels, oriental snack mix

Sugar products and dishes Sugar, honey and syrups Glace icing, white sugar, fairy fl oss, honey, golden

syrup, chocolate topping

Jams and lemon spreads, chocolate

spreads

Jam, marmalade, lemon butter

Dishes and products other than

confectionery where sugar is the major

component

Meringue, sorbet, icing with added fat

Confectionary and health

bars

Chocolate and chocolate-based

confectionery

Chocolate, chocolate bars, liqueur-fi lled chocolates,

peanut brittle

Cereal-, fruit-, nut- and seed-bars Muesli-bar, fruit leather, sesame seed-bar

Other confectionery Coconut ice, fudge, licorice, hundreds and thousands,

boiled lollies, turkish delight, chewing gum

Miscellaneous Beverage fl avourings Dry beverage fl avourings, cocoa, malted milk powder

Yeast; yeast, vegetable and meat

extracts

Compressed yeast, beef extract, yeast extract spread

Artifi cial sweetening agents Saccharine artifi cial sweetener, aspartame artifi cial

sweetener tablet

Herbs, spices, seasonings and stock

cubes

Chilli powder, curry paste, mint, pepper, bacon chips

Chemical-raising agents and cooking

ingredients

Baking powder, baking soda, gelatine

112

Appendix II Anthropometry Form (Year 10)

113

Queensland Page 2

www.som.uq.edu/healthykidsqld

School Year Class Student

Questionnaire checked: ______/ ______/

with student? (pls tick) Yes No

RA Signature:

Initial Date

Entry 1

Entry 2

Food Frequency Questionnaire forHigh School Students

Appendix III Food Frequency Questionnaire (Year 10)

114

Queensland Page 4

Queensland Page 3

115

Queensland Page 6

Queensland Page 5

116

Queensland Page 8

Queensland Page 7

117

Queensland Page 10

Queensland Page 9

118

Queensland Page 12

Queensland Page 11

119

Queensland Page 14

Queensland Page 13

120

Queensland Page 16

Queensland Page 15

121

Queensland Page 18

Queensland Page 17

122

Queensland Page 19

123

Queensland Page 2



24 Hour Food and Drink Record forYear 10 Children


with student? (pls tick) Yes No

RA Signature:

Initial Date

Entry 1

Entry 2

Appendix IV 24 Hour Food and Drink Record

124

Queensland Page 4

Queensland Page 3

125

Queensland Page 6

6.30am 8.30pm

Wednesday 15.2.06

7.00am Corn Flakes (Kelloggs) H 1 1/4 cups

7.00am Milk (Pauls, full cream) H 3/4 cup

7.00am Sugar (white) H 1 tablespoon

10.30am Uncle Toby’s fruit filled bar blueberry 97% fat free

C 37.5g bar (1/2 eaten)

12.30pm Wholemeal bread (brand not known) H 2 slices 10cm x 10 cm x 1 cm (1/2 eaten)

12.30pm Coon light and tasty (25% less fat) sliced cheese H 1 slice (1/2 eaten)

12.30pm Meadow Lea polyunsaturated margarine H Thin scrape (1/2 eaten)

12.30pm Apple juice Daily Juice 100% 250ml C 250ml carton

12.30pm Chocolate cake with chocolate icing Betty Crocker packet mix

H 1 slice

4.00pm Apple green medium F medium 3/4 eaten

6.30pm Chicken casserole - chicken meat with skin, peas, carrots, onion

H 1 cup

Queensland Page 5

126

Queensland Page 8

Queensland Page 7

127

Queensland Page 10

✔

OFFICE USE ONLY

Check meals/snacks

Check drinks

Rating (E, G, P)

Interviewer initials

Queensland Page 9

128

Queensland Page 11

129

Queensland Page 2

2 40mins 1 15mins 1 15mins



Questionnaire checked: ______/ ______/ /

RA Signature:

Initial Date

Entry 1

Entry 2

Physical Activity Questionnaire forYear 10 Children

Appendix V Physical Activity Questionnaire (Year 10)

130

Queensland Page 4

Queensland Page 3

131

Queensland Page 6

Queensland Page 5

132

Queensland Page 8

Queensland Page 7

133

Queensland Page 10

Queensland Page 9

134

Queensland Page 11

135

Queensland Page 2




RA Signature:

Initial Date

Entry 1

Entry 2

Pedometer Diary forYear 10 Children

Appendix VI Pedometer Diary (Year 10)

136

Queensland Page 4

ran with dog 15

played netball 30

Swimming lesson 50

jazz ballet practice 60

Hockey match 50

Played soccer in park with friends 100

Swam in friend’s pool 10

Ten Pin Bowling 90

15,152

1 4 0 3

7.15am 8.30pm

Queensland Page 3

137

Queensland Page 5

50 minutes – Swimming lesson for PE

50

Queensland Page 6

138

Queensland Page 8

Queensland Page 7

139

Queensland Page 10

Queensland Page 9

140

Queensland Page 12

Queensland Page 11

141

Queensland Page 14

Queensland Page 13

142

Queensland Page 15

143

Appendix VII Adjustment of food intake values

As detailed in Section 4.2, in order to compare individual micronutrient intakes from the 24 hour record with recommended EARs, the food intake data were adjusted to take into account the fact that the food intake was from a one day record. To this end, in a sub-sample of the HKQ participants, a second 24 hour food record was completed and analysed. Thus information is available on within subject as well as between subject variation in food intake. Knowing this information allowed for a new “adjusted” value to be calculated for the individuals taking part in the survey. This process is described in detail in the National Nutrition Survey 36, suffi ce it to note here that the adjusted value is obtained as;

Adjusted value = X + (X1-X) * (Sb/Sobs)

Where, X = group mean value for any given nutrient X1 = the individuals actual nutrient intake Sb = the between subject standard deviation Sobs = the group standard deviation

It is important to note that Sb and Sobs are calculated only from the repeated dataset but can be then applied to the entire sample. The effect of this adjustment is that the mean nutrient intake for any given group will not change, however, the standard deviation and hence coeffi cient of variation will shrink

For this analysis, Year 1 data were adjusted with male and female data together, Year 5 data were adjusted with male and female data together and Year 10 data were adjusted separately for males and females.

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Healthy Kids Queensland Survey 2006 - Full Report · The University of Queensland Healthy Kids Queensland Project Committee was instrumental in the design, ... Appendix II Anthropometry