Question 727:

Asked on May 23, 2009

1

Answer:

No answer provided yet.Without knowing the total sample size or more specifically the sample size in each cell. My interpretation of the table is as follows:

1. There appears to be a pattern in the percentages where generally the older the age group, the higher prevalence of individuals, both male and female, on a low-fat or low-cholesterol diet.

2. For all age groups, there is a higher percentage of women on a low-fat or low-cholesterol diet and in some cases the difference in percentages is substantial. For example,  a woman aged 16-24 is 2.24 times more likely to be on a low-fat or low-cholesterol diet than a man of the same age.  The gap decreases with age as we see the likelihood of men being on a low-fat or low-cholesterol catches up with women as men get older (but still remains low). The likelihood per age group is 2.23, 1.72 1.64, 1.69 and 1.40 for the ages 16-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54 and 55+ respectively.

Additional tests on the significance of these ratios would require knowing the sample sizes in each cell.  What's more, a Chi-Square test can only be conducted if we know these cell values. The Chi-square test would allow us to determine if there was an association between the two variables: Age and Gender with respect to being on a low-fat or low cholesterol diet.
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