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Table 1 Descriptive characteristics by food security status among first-year college students at risk of weight gain in the United States (n = 855), 2016

From: Prevalence and correlates of food insecurity among U.S. college students: a multi-institutional study

 

All Students (n = 855)a

Food-Secure (n = 692 [81%])

Food-Insecure (n = 163 [19%])

P-valueb Insecure vs. Secure

Age (y), n (%)

   

0.310

 18

293 (34.6)

243 (35.3)

50 (31.2)

 

 ≥ 19

555 (65.4)

445 (64.7)

110 (68.8)

 

Sex, n (%)

   

0.391

 Male

262 (31.2)

217 (31.8)

45 (28.3)

 

 Female

579 (68.8)

465 (68.2)

114 (71.7)

 

Race/ethnicity, n (%)

   

< 0.001

 Non-Hispanic white

434 (62.4)

376 (66.0)

58 (46.0)

 

 Non-Hispanic black

87 (12.5)

59 (10.4)

28 (22.2)

 

 Hispanic/Latino

72 (10.3)

51 (8.9)

21 (16.7)

 

 Other/multi-racial

103 (14.8)

84 (14.7)

19 (15.1)

 

Father’s Education Level, n (%)

   

< 0.001

 Some college or higher

406 (49.8)

355 (53.1)

51 (34.5)

 

 High school or less

410 (50.2)

313 (46.9)

97 (65.5)

 

Mother’s Education Level, n (%)

   

< 0.001

 Some college or higher

469 (56.3)

401 (59.3)

68 (43.3)

 

 High school or less

364 (43.7)

275 (40.7)

89 (56.7)

 

Employment Status, n (%)

   

0.652

 Employed (Part-time/full-time)

366 (43.3)

295 (42.9)

71 (44.9)

 

 Unemployed

479 (56.7)

392 (57.1)

87 (55.1)

 

Pell Grant Recipient, n (%)

   

< 0.001

 Yes

323 (39.7)

233 (35.4)

90 (58.4)

 

 No

490 (60.3)

426 (64.6)

64 (41.6)

 

Place of Residence, n (%)

   

0.001

 On-campus

718 (84.4)

599 (86.3)

119 (75.8)

 

 Off-campus

133 (15.6)

95 (13.7)

38 (24.2)

 

Meal Plan Enrollment, n (%)

   

0.001

 Yes

681 (80.0)

568 (82.2)

113 (70.6)

 

 No

170 (20.0)

123 (17.8)

47 (29.4)

 
  1. aCounts will not always sum to 855 because of missing data
  2. bχ2 P-values compare the difference by food security status and sociodemographic characteristics; P-value < 0.05 is statistically significant