¶ … Diet and Health case study found in this week's curriculum provides data collection, analysis and results that can assist those interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and does so by comparing two similar diets in an effort to determine if one results in a higher quality of life than does the other, specifically tracking cardiovascular events and other medical maladies.
The study compared the Mediterranean diet to the American Heart Association (AHA) diet. The two diets are both relatively low in fat content and hence both were considered to be advantageous to participants in the study; primarily the study was conducted to determine if one diet showed better results over the other diet when comparing incidences of cardiovascular events such as the number of deaths from heart attack and strokes, as well as non-fatal heart-related events. The study also tracked malignant and non-malignant tumors in the participants over the four-year lifespan of the study.
The relationship of the diet(s) to the health of the participants was enlightening. What the study found was that there was a...
The dependent variable was the number of health-related incidences suffered by both the control group and the non-control group of participants. Specific variables included how many deaths were suffered in each group throughout the four-year study, how many cancers were diagnosed and how many non-fatal heart-related issues were experienced.
The independent variables included using an experimental canola oil-based margarine instead of butter or cream, canola and olive oils for salads and food preparation, and moderate red wine consumption. Additional independent variables included how often the two groups were tested for compliance with the study constraints and of course, the two different diets.
The problem with this study is that there are far too many variables of which the researcher had no control. The analysis was good, the…
