National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NCNAPAS)

The National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey is the first survey to combine nutrition and physical activity into one study, building on and reflecting similar studies conducted in 1985 (National Physical Activity Survey) and in 1995 (National Nutrition Survey).

The aim of the National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey is to assess changes in the Australian food supply, eating habits, family life and structure and their impact it has on what children do and what they eat, within the age groups of 2-3 years, 4-8 years, 9-13 years and 14-16 years. Food, beverage, supplement and nutrient intakes among children were assessed against the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, while their physical activity levels were measured up against the National Physical Activity Guidelines for Children and Young People.

This is the second version of the data to be distributed by the archive, after revisions were made to the data and Users Guide by the Preventative Health National Research Flagship at CSIRO.

Data available through the ADA are hosted on its NCNAPAS Dataverse.

Data Files in the NCNAPAS Collection:

Data File	Description
Contacts	Variables include the number of call attempts to potential respondents, length of recruitment call, recruitment status, dates of the CAPI and CATI, CAPI and CATI status, the number of call attempts to conduct the CAPI and CATI, and the length of each interview.
CAPI (Computer assisted personal interview)	Variables include interview details, demographic details (including region, age, gender, indigenous status, country of birth and use of other language at home), carer details (including employment), respondent medical conditions, details of other household members and household type, anthropometry (including height, weight, waist, BMI and stride measurements), and short dietary questions (including breastfeeding, use of salt, number of serves of fruit and vegetables).
CATI (Computer assisted telephone interview)	Variables include interview details, and monitoring of whether other parts of the study were completed, including whether the pedometer was used.
Pedometer	This dataset contains results from the children who were given pedometers. Variables include the average number of steps taken each day, on the weekends and during the week, average distance walked, and the time spent (in minutes) on moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Physical activity	This dataset reflects respondents' overall levels of activity within two separate 48 hour periods. Variables include the date of the activity; time spent (in minutes) on moderate and vigorous physical activity, active and passive transport, doing chores, watching TV, playing computer games, talking on the telephone and text messaging, lying down without sleeping, sleeping during the day; and also the time of waking and going to bed that day.
Food intake	This dataset reflects respondents' dietary recall within two separate 24 hour periods. Variables include the time and place that items were consumed, the amount consumed, food groups, and the total amount of specific ingredients in foods including, but not limited to: calcium, saturated fats, sugars, carbohydrates, iron, magnesium, cholesterol, and dietary fibre.