Obesity and Marital Status A 2009 study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Participants were studied into adulthood.
Each study participant was categorized as to whether they were obese or not and whether they were dating, cohabiting, or married. Obesity was defined as having a Body Mass Index of 30 or more. (Source: The and Larsen, Entry into romantic partnership is associated with obesity, Obesity, vol. 17, no. 7: 1441-1447, 2009)
a. What percentage of those who were dating were obese?
b. What percentage of those who were cohabiting were obese?
c. What percentage of those who were married were obese?
d. Which group had the highest rate of obesity? Does this imply that marital status causes obesity? Why or why not? If not, can you name a confounding variable?