Skip to main content

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of 1973–78 cohort ALSWH women included/excluded from the sample (N = 14 247)

From: Educational mobility and weight gain over 13 years in a longitudinal study of young women

 

Included N = 11,436

Excluded N = 2,811

P-value*

Baseline characteristics

   

Mean (Std Dev)

   

Weight (kg)

62.7 (12.5)

61.8 (13.3)

<0.0001

Height (cm)

165.9 (7.1)

165.3 (8.2)

<0.0001

Age at birth of first child**

27.1 (4.3)

23.1 (3.7)

0.0089

Percentage (%)

   

BMI

  

<0.0001

Underweight (<18.5)

9.5

13.6

 

Normal weight (18.5 -24.9)

69.0

64.3

 

Overweight (25.0 – 29.9)

15.3

15.4

 

Obese (≥30.0)

6.2

6.7

 

Education***

  

<0.0001

Low

70.7

74.0

 

Intermediate

17.1

19.7

 

High

12.2

6.3

 

Number of children

  

<0.0001

No children

93.1

97.6

 

1

5.3

1.6

 

2

1.3

0.7

 

3+

0.3

0.1

 

Marital status

  

<0.0001

Never married

77.7

71.8

 

Married/de facto

21.6

26.4

 

Separated/divorced/widowed

0.7

1.9

 

Living arrangement

  

<0.0001

Parents/relatives

49.3

44.9

 

Partner/children

26.9

35.9

 

Non-family

17.7

13.1

 

Alone

6.1

6.1

 

Physical activity

  

<0.0001

Nil/Sedentary

6.0

10.0

 

Low

37.1

37.3

 

Moderate

13.4

11.7

 

High

43.5

41.0

 

Alcohol intake

  

<0.0001

Never/rarely

41.8

49.8

 

Low risk

52.9

43.5

 

Risky/high risk

5.3

6.7

 

Smoking status

  

<0.0001

Non-smoker

54.1

44.9

 

Ex-Smoker

15.1

15.9

 

Current smoker

30.8

39.2

 

Mental health (based on MHI-5)

 

<0.0001

Poor (≤52)

20.7

25.8

 

Good (>52)

79.3

74.2

 

Self-rated health

  

<0.0001

Excellent

12.8

11.4

 

Very good

39.9

33.1

 

Good

35.8

40.7

 

Poor/Fair

11.5

14.8

 

Ability to manage on income

  

<0.0001

Easy/Not too bad

50.1

41.4

 

Difficult sometimes

32.6

35.5

 

Impossible/Always difficult

17.4

23.1

 

Body shape dissatisfaction

  

<0.0001

Not at all

8.8

12.8

 

Slightly

25.9

23.4

 

Moderately

31.9

28.9

 

Markedly

33.3

34.9

 

Country of birth

  

<0.0001

Australia

92.6

86.9

 

Other English speaking

3.6

4.6

 

Europe

0.9

1.6

 

Asia

2.0

5.4

 

Other (incl. Middle East)

0.8

1.5

 

Area of residence

  

0.4444

Urban (major cities)

51.9

51.4

 

Rural (inner regional)

30.4

29.8

 

Remote (outer regional/ remote)

17.7

18.8

 
  1. sample sizes change slightly due to missing values for some variables.
  2. *P-values from independent t-tests for continuous variables and from Pearson chi square tests for categorical variables.
  3. **Age at birth of first child is based on reported information up to Survey Five.
  4. ***Education at baseline (Low - higher school certificate or lower (≤12 years), Intermediate - trade/certificate/diploma, High - degree/higher degree).