| Characteristics of the study population | Weighted sample, no. (%) | BMI percentile | Significance of difference, p† | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (95% CI) | Difference from reference group (95% CI) | ||||
| Country of birth | |||||
| Canadian born | 17 659 | (91.6) | 58 (57 to 58) | Reference | |
| Foreign born | 1 613 | (8.4) | 54 (52 to 55) | −4 (−6 to −2) | < 0.001 |
| Time since immigration, yr | |||||
| Canadian born | 17 659 | (91.6) | 58 (57 to 58) | Reference | |
| ≥ 6 | 891 | (4.6) | 52 (50 to 54) | −6 (−8 to −4) | < 0.001 |
| 3–5 | 396 | (2.1) | 56 (53 to 59) | −2 (−5 to 1) | 0.30 |
| 1–2 | 325 | (1.7) | 55 (52 to 59) | −2 (−6 to 1) | 0.23 |
| Ethnicity | |||||
| Canadian host culture | 15 071 | (78.2) | 57 (57 to 58) | Reference | |
| Arab and West Asian | 300 | (1.6) | 58 (54 to 61) | 1 (−3 to 4) | 0.78 |
| African | 737 | (3.8) | 60 (58 to 62) | 3 (0 to 5) | 0.028 |
| East Indian and South Asian | 559 | (2.9) | 52 (49 to 55) | −5 (−8 to −3) | < 0.001 |
| East and Southeast Asian | 1 089 | (5.7) | 53 (51 to 56) | −4 (−6 to −2) | < 0.001 |
| Latin American | 187 | (1.0) | 60 (56 to 65) | 3 (−2 to 7) | 0.24 |
| Other‡ | 1 330 | (6.9) | 59 (57 to 60) | 1 (0 to 3) | 0.15 |
| Individual-level covariables | |||||
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 9 567 | (49.6) | 61 (60 to 62) | Reference | |
| Female | 9 705 | (50.4) | 53 (52 to 54) | −8 (−9 to −7) | < 0.001 |
| Perceived family wealth | |||||
| Well off | 11 064 | (57.4) | 56 (55 to 57) | Reference | |
| Average | 6 436 | (33.4) | 58 (57 to 59) | 2 (1 to 3) | < 0.001 |
| Worse off | 1 772 | (9.2) | 61 (59 to 63) | 5 (3 to 6) | < 0.001 |
| Area-level covariables | |||||
| Median annual household income, $ | |||||
| Quartile 4: > 67 605 | 4 512 | (23.4) | 56 (55 to 58) | Reference | |
| Quartile 3: 53 115–67 605 | 4 440 | (23.0) | 56 (54 to 58) | 0 (−2 to 2) | 0.85 |
| Quartile 2: 43 571–53 114 | 4 311 | (22.4) | 56 (55 to 58) | 0 (−2 to 2) | 0.99 |
| Quartile 1: < 43 571 | 6 008 | (31.2) | 59 (58 to 61) | 3 (1 to 5) | 0.002 |
| Immigrants in the community, % | |||||
| Quartile 4: ≥ 17 | 6 399 | (33.2) | 55 (54 to 56) | Reference | |
| Quartile 3: 9 to < 17 | 5 095 | (26.4) | 58 (57 to 60) | 3 (1 to 5) | < 0.001 |
| Quartile 2: 3 to < 9 | 4 319 | (22.4) | 58 (57 to 60) | 3 (1 to 5) | < 0.001 |
| Quartile 1: < 3 | 3 459 | (18.0) | 58 (56 to 60) | 3 (1 to 5) | 0.008 |
| Statistics Canada population centre category | |||||
| Large urban centre | 6 275 | (32.6) | 56 (54 to 57) | Reference | |
| Medium centre | 3 501 | (18.2) | 57 (55 to 59) | 1 (−1 to 3) | 0.24 |
| Small centre | 8 898 | (46.2) | 58 (57 to 59) | 2 (0 to 4) | 0.015 |
| Rural | 597 | (3.1) | 60 (57 to 64) | 5 (1 to 8) | 0.019 |
Note: CI = confidence interval. *n values were weighted according to the Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study protocol. (22) Totals in a category may vary slightly due to rounding. †We compared the levels of the variables for significant differences while controlling for the clustering effect of school. ‡The “other” ethnic group includes youth who identified with more than 1 of the 6 ethnic groups.