SPANS food and drink purchasing patterns 13 The three main sources of food and drink for young people are home, school (canteen, external food services, vending machines) and commercial outlets. Among these, the home would be the primary source of food and drink. There are other potential sources (eg sporting venues, friends), but these would provide only a relatively small proportion of the total food consumed. In order to plan for greater availability of healthy food and reduced availability of unhealthy foods, it is important to first understand the pattern of food and drink purchases outside the home. This chapter reports on the prevalence of purchases of food and drink on the way to and from school, from the school canteen and vending machines, and of the sources of lunch and breakfast. Buying food on the way to school Question How many days each week do you usually buy something to eat on the way to school of buying food on the way to school Figure 13.1 and Table 13.1 show the prevalence of buying food on the way to school among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1. Over 8% of boys and approximately 9% of girls reported buying something to eat on the way to school either never/rarely or less than once per week, with little variation across school Years. Approximately 1% of boys and 5-8% of girls reported buying something to eat on the way to school one to two times per week and approximately 5% of boys and 3% of girls reported doing so three or more times per week. Figure 13.1. of buying food on the way to school among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 4 8 8 = never/rarely, 1 = <1/week, 2 = 1-3 times/week, 3 = 4-6 times/week, 4 = every day full report 195
food and drink purchasing patterns Table 13.1. of buying food on the way to school among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 67. 16.3 11.1 4.8.9 7.9 13.1 1.6 3.9 1.5 73.9 11.7 9.9 3.6.9 77.8 12.1 7.7 1.9.4 85.3 6.7 5.4 2.1.5 78.1 1.4 8. 2.7 1. = never/rarely, 1 = <1/week, 2 = 1-2 times/week, 3 = 3-4 times/week, 4 = every day Buying food on the way home from school of buying food on the way home from school by sex and Year group Question How many days each week do you usually buy something to eat on the way home from school Figure 13.2 and Table 13.2 show the prevalence of buying food on the way home from school among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1. Sixty per cent of Year 6 and Year 8 boys and about 5% of Year 1 boys reported that they never bought food on the way home from school. Twenty per cent of all boys reported that they bought food on the way home less than once per week and slightly smaller proportions stated that they bought food on the way home one to two times per week. Approximately two-thirds of girls reported that they never or rarely bought food on the way home from school. About 16% and 1% bought food on the way home less than once per week and one to two times per week, respectively. Figure 13.2. of buying food on the way home from school among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 4 8 8 = never/rarely, 1 = <1/week, 2 = 1-3 times/week, 3 = 4-6 times/week, 4 = every day 196 NSW Health
NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey 4 (SPANS) Table 13.2. of buying food on the way home from school among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 61.9 18.2 13.5 3.6 2.8.4 19.7 15.7 2.7 1.5 53.8 19.1 13.5 4.2 9.4 71.3 15.7 1.3 1.7 1. 66.4 17.8 6.6 2.5 6.6 67. 16.6 11.3 3.6 1.4 = never/rarely, 1 = <1/week, 2 = 1-2 times/week, 3 = 3-4 times/week, 4 = every day Sources of lunch Question On school days, where do you usually get your lunch Sources of lunch by sex and Year group Figure 13.3 and Table 13.3 show the sources of lunch among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1. Among Year 6 boys and girls, approximately 9% usually bring their lunch from home and 5-1% purchase it from the school canteen. Negligible proportions obtain their lunch from other sources. The majority of secondary school students (7-8%) also bring their lunch from home, but larger proportions of secondary school students (15-%) compared with Year 6 students report buying their lunch from the school canteen. Very small proportions of students report obtaining their lunch from shops, vending machines or fast food outlets. Figure 13.3. Sources of lunch among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 4 8 8 = don t eat lunch, 1 = home, 2 = school vending machines, 3 = canteen, 4 = shop, 5 = fast food outlet Table 13.3. Sources of lunch among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1.7 87. 8.4 2.4.4 1.2 81.5.2 16.8.2. 9.4 71..2 17.1 2.4..4 92.9 5.4 1.3. 8.2 76..3 14.9.3.3 2.9 76.5. 19.9.7. = don t eat lunch, 1 = home, 2 = school vending machines, 3 = canteen, 4 = shop, 5 = fast food outlet full report 197
food and drink purchasing patterns Question How often each week do you usually buy the following meal or snack from the school canteen Breakfast Recess Lunch Canteen use Breakfast Buying food for breakfast from the school canteen by sex and Year group Figure 13.4 and Table 13.4 show the frequency with which students purchase food for breakfast from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1. Approximately 85-95% of students reported that that they never or rarely bought breakfast from the school canteen. Generally (except for Year 6 boys), less than 4% of students reported buying breakfast from the canteen every day and between 5-8% reported buying breakfast from the canteen once or twice per week. More boys than girls reported buying their breakfast from the canteen. Figure 13.4. Frequency of buying breakfast from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 8 8 = never/rarely, 1 = once/week, 2 = twice/week, 3 = daily Table 13.4. Frequency of buying breakfast from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 84.7 5.1 3.5 6.7 87. 7.7 3.2 2.1 86.1 6.7 4.5 2.7 91.3 2.5 2.3 3.9 89.7 5.7 1.1 3.5 93.3 2.7 2.2 1.9 = never/rarely, 1 = once/week, 2 = twice/week, 3 = daily Recess Buying food for recess from the school canteen by sex and Year group Figure 13.5 and Table 13.5 show the frequency of purchasing food for recess from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1. Approximately half of Year 6 boys and girls and slightly smaller proportions of secondary school students reported that they never or rarely bought food for recess from the school canteen. Approximately 25-3% bought food from the canteen once per week. Less than 1% of students bought food from the canteen for recess every day. 198 NSW Health
NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey 4 (SPANS) Figure 13.5. Frequency of buying food for recess from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 8 8 = never/rarely, 1 = once/week, 2 = twice/week, 3 = daily Table 13.5. Frequency of buying food for recess from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 52.6 25.4 13.4 8.6 42.4 29.7 18.3 9.6 45.8 27.2 17.8 9.2 54.5 27.2 12.9 5.4 48.6 27.8 16.9 6.8 51.8 25.5 14.5 8.2 = never/rarely, 1 = once/week, 2 = twice/week, 3 = daily Lunch Buying food for lunch from the school canteen by sex and Year group Figure 13.6 and Table 13.6 show the frequency with which students purchase lunch from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1. Approximately % of all girls and about one-third of all boys reported that they never or rarely bought lunch from the school canteen. Almost 3% of secondary school students and slightly larger proportions of Year 6 boys and girls bought their lunch from the canteen once per week. Close to % of secondary school students purchased their lunch twice per week and 15-% did so every day. Figure 13.6. Frequency of buying lunch from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 8 8 = never/rarely, 1 = once/week, 2 = twice/week, 3 = daily full report 199
food and drink purchasing patterns Table 13.6. Frequency of buying lunch from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 39.5 35.4 14.6 1.5 33.3 32.8 22. 11.6 32.6 29.7 19.5 16.4 41.3 37.6 14.8 6.3 38.1 28.4 19.4 13.8 37.6 28.2.7 13.5 = never/rarely, 1 = once/week, 2 = twice/week, 3 = daily Drink purchases Question What kind of drink do you usually buy from the canteen (If you buy more than one type of drink, choose the one you buy most often.) Buying drinks from the school canteen by sex and Year group Figure 13.7 and Table 13.7 show the kinds of drinks purchased from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1. Among boys, those who reported that they never bought drinks from the canteen declined from 34% in Year 6 to 22% in Year 1. The most commonly purchased drink among Year 6 boys was milk, followed by soft drink. Less than 1% of boys purchased any of the alternatives. Among secondary school boys, the most commonly purchased drink was soft drink, followed by sport drink and milk. Among girls, close to % reported that they did not buy drinks from the school canteen. Among Year 6 girls, milk was the most commonly purchased drink, followed by water, juice and soft drink in equal proportions. Among secondary school girls, soft drink was the most commonly purchased drink, followed by water and juice. were more likely to buy soft drink and less likely to buy water or juice than girls. Figure 13.7. Drinks bought from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 5 3 3 1 1 1 = I don t buy drinks, 2 = water, 3 = 1% fruit juice, 4 = soft drink, 5 = sport drink, 6 = milk NSW Health
NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey 4 (SPANS) Table 13.7. Drinks bought from the school canteen among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 34.1 7.8 8.7 17.4 3.3 28.7 29.6 5. 8.3 35.8 8.3 13. 22.3 6.8 7. 31.9 19.1 12.8 39.6 11.7 14.3 11.9 2.3.1 39. 15.5 12.1 22.5 4.7 6.2 36.4. 13. 21.7 2.4 6.5 1 = I don t buy drinks, 2 = water, 3 = 1% fruit juice, 4 = soft drink, 5 = sport drink, 6 = milk Drink vending machines Question What kind of drink do you usually buy from the school vending machine (If you buy more than one type of drink, choose the one you buy most often.) Buying drinks from the school vending machine by sex and Year group Figure 13.8 and Table 13.8 show the kinds of drinks students purchase from the school vending machine among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1. Among Year 6 boys and girls, 9% reported that their school did not have a vending machine. Of those that did, the most common response was that they did not buy drinks from the vending machine. Approximately -5% of secondary school students reported that their school did not have a vending machine. One-quarter of the students reported that they did not buy drinks from the machine. By far the most frequently purchased drink was soft drinks (15-%), with all of the alternative drinks being purchased in insignificant quantities. Figure 13.8. Drinks bought from the school vending machine among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 8 = the school does not have a vending machine, 1 = I don t buy drinks from the vending machine, 2 = water, 3 = 1% fruit juice, 4 = soft drink, 5 = sport drink, 6 = milk full report 1
food and drink purchasing patterns Table 13.8. Drinks bought from the school vending machine among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) Don t have Don t buy Water Juice Soft drink Sport drink Milk Year 6 9. 3.6 1.9.6 2.3.6.9 Year 8 49. 25.3.8.8 19.5 3.8 1. Year 1 41.3 26.7 3.6 1.3 21.1 5.8.4 Year 6 91.9 5. 2.1.2.2.2.4 Year 8 5.6 26.2 3.9 1.8 16.2 1..3 Year 1 49.2 27. 2.9. 19.3 1.7. Spending on food and drinks Question In a typical week, how much of your own money do you spend on food, drinks and snacks Money spent on food and drink by sex and Year group Figure 13.9 shows the amount of money students have available to spend on food and drink each week among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1. Slightly more than % of Year 6 students reported having no money to spend on food and drink. Almost % of girls and 3% of boys reported having less than $5 per week, but more boys (21%) than girls (16%) had $5-9 per week. Among boys, the proportion of students with more money to spend increased substantially across school Years. The proportion with no money fell from 42% in Year 6 to 21% in Year 1.The proportion with $5-9 increased from approximately % in Year 6 and 8 to over 3% in Year 1. Although only small proportions of Year 6 and 8 boys had more than $1 per week, over % of Year 1 boys did. Among girls, the proportions with no money to spend declined from 43% among Year 6 girls to 26% among Year 1 girls. Those with $5-9 per week to spend increased from 16% in Year 6 to 27% in Year 1. Overall, girls reported having less of their own money to spend on food than did boys. Figure 13.9. Money spent on food, drinks and snacks each week among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 5 3 3 1 1 = None, 1 = <$5/week, 2 = $5-9/week, 3 = $1-19/week, 4 = $/week or more 2 NSW Health
NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey 4 (SPANS) Table 13.9. Money spent on food, drinks and snacks each week among boys and girls in Years 6, 8 and 1 (%) 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 42.2 3.2 21.4 3.2 3. 29.2 38.3 22.1 7.1 3.2 21.3 24.9 32.1 14.4 7.4 43.2 37.5 15.5 2.3 1.5 38. 32.9 19.6 4.8 4.6 26.3 34.9 26.7 8.4 3.6 = None, 1 = <$5/week, 2 = $5-9/week, 3 = $1-19/week, 4 = $/week or more Discussion Only small proportions of students purchased food on the way to school on a regular basis. Somewhat larger proportions of students purchased food on the way home from school, particularly boys. Twenty per cent or more of boys regularly purchased food on the way home from school, but only half the number of girls did so. A small, but significant proportion of Year 6 boys (1%) frequently obtained their breakfast from the school canteen, but only small proportions of other students did so. About half of all students never purchased food from the school canteen for recess, about one-quarter did so infrequently and a further quarter did so twice a week or more. The great majority of students took their lunch from home, but up to % of secondary school students usually purchased their lunch from the school canteen. With regard to buying drinks from the school canteen, primary school students most commonly purchased milk drinks. Among secondary school students, boys most commonly purchased soft drinks while girls purchased soft drink and water with about equal frequency. Approximately 75% of secondary school students reported either that their school did not have a drink vending machine or that they did not purchase drinks from it. Of those who did buy drinks from school vending machines, soft drink was the most commonly purchased product, with the healthier alternatives only purchased infrequently. School canteens represent an opportunity to provide healthy food and drinks to a substantial minority of students and, potentially, to introduce them to foods they might not otherwise encounter. full report 3