Drink a Little, but Not a Lot . Many observational studies show that people who

Question

Drink a Little, but Not a Lot. Many observational studies show that people who drink a moderate amount of alcohol have less heart disease than people who drink no alcohol or who drink heavily. ("Moderate" means one or two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.)

(a) What are the explanatory and response variables?

The explanatory variable is:

The response variable is:

(b) Moderate drinkers as a group tend to be more likely to maintain a healthy weight, get enough sleep, and exercise regularly than those who drink no alcohol or drink heavily.

Are the variables maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly:

(c) Is the association between drinking and heart disease good reason to think that moderate drinking actually causes less heart disease?

Explanation / Answer

The objective of the study is to establish a relationship between Alcohol Consumption and Heart Diseases. This is to be established that heavy alcohol consumption is the cause of heart diseases

Solution - A:

The amount of alcohol drunk is the predictor or explanatory variable that is used to explain the cause of heart diseases

The heart disease is the response variable

Solution - B:

The variables maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly are Lurking Variables

Lurking variables are those which may co-vary with either explanatory variable or response variable. With lurking variables, it becomes difficult to judge that explanatory variable alone is responsible for changes in the response variables.

Solution - C:

The association or correlation does not imply causation. There may be other factors responsible such as those identified as lurking variable in part-b, which cause the changes in the response variables.

Hence, the the association between drinking and heart disease is NOT a good reason to think that moderate drinking actually causes less heart disease

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