Answer Happy

1 [6 pts] To examine the effect of exercise on body composition, healthy women aged 35 to 50 were classified as either active (nine or more hours of physical activity per week) or sedentary ("effects of habitual Physical activity on the resting Metabolic rates and body composition of women aged 35 to 50 Years)" Journal of the American Dietetic Association (2001): 1181–1191). Body fat percentage was measured, and the researchers found that this percentage was significantly lower for women who were active than for sedentary women. (a) is the study an observational study or an experiment? (b) What is the explanatory variable and what is the response variable? (c) From this study alone, is it reasonable to conclude that physical activity is the cause of the observed difference in body fat percentage? Justify your answer.