Public Elementary School Foods and Physical Activity Survey, 2005

A 2005 national survey of public elementary schools in the United States, designed to collect information on food availability and physical activity opportunities. The study achieved a 91% weighted response rate from school principals. It covers topics including food types sold in cafeterias and vending machines, scheduled recess and physical education, and activities to encourage student exercise.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between scheduled recess minutes per day and activities to encourage physical activity among students.
• Model the prevalence of specific food types sold in school cafeterias or lunchrooms across different regions.
• Investigate correlations between food service operations, contracts with companies, and the types of food available at vending machines or school stores.

Strengths

• Achieved a 91% weighted survey response rate, indicating high data completeness.
• National in scope, providing a representative picture of U.S. public elementary schools in 2005.
• Covers multiple related domains: food availability, physical education, recess, and activity promotion programs.

Limitations

• Data is from 2005 and may not reflect current school nutrition or physical activity policies.
• No column-level metadata or sample data is provided, complicating initial analysis.
• The underlying sample size and number of rows are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.

Provenance

Source

Department of Education, Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) program.

Collection Method

Sample survey mailed to principals of sampled public elementary schools, with optional paper or web-based completion.

Time Range

2005

Freshness

Data is from 2005; metadata was last updated in August 2023.

Geography

United States (national)