Table 2

Covariates for analyses

CovariatesClassification based onCategories
Food outlet typeThe kind of food and drink soldKiosk (ice-cream, prepackaged snacks and drinks only)
Canteen (ice-cream, prepackaged snacks and drinks, and a small selection of hot and cold foods)
Café (ice-cream, prepackaged snacks and drinks, variety of hot and cold foods, food could be made to order)
Facility sizeMedian number of cold packaged drink units sold per week during study period<50 units sold per week
≥50 units sold per week
Area level socioeconomic disadvantageSocioeconomic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) measure of disadvantage30Higher disadvantage (SEIFA ≤5th decile)
Lower disadvantage (SEIFA ≥6th decile)
Seasonality of facility openingMonths of year facility usually openSeasonal (included sporting clubs and outdoor pools which were often open only over the summer months)*
Non-seasonal (open all year)
Season of auditMonth of auditSummer (December–February)
Autumn (March–May)
Winter (June–August)
Spring (September–November)
Mean maximum daily temperature for each weekDaily maximum temperature of the closest weather station to each local government area obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology website31N/A—continuous variable
  • *One facility that was open all year had a low weekly number of unit sales outside the summer season so for the purposes of this analysis was also considered a seasonal facility.

  • N/A, not applicable.