Case Study- Nutrition education programs

Nutrition education programs, which
teach clients how to lose weight, reduce cholesterol, or reduce fat intake
through better eating patterns, have been growing in popularity. The nurse in
charge of one such program at a local hospital wanted to know whether the
programs actually work to improve health measures. A random sample was drawn of
33 clients who attended a nutrition education program for those with elevated
cholesterol levels. The study recorded the following health measures:
weight, cholesterol levels, total dietary fat intake per average day, total
dietary cholesterol intake per average day, and percent of daily calories from
fat. These data were gathered both before and 3 months after the
program. The researcher also determined the clients’ genders, ages, and
heights. The data are stored in the following way:

Column A: Gender (1 = female; 2 = male)

Column B: Age

Column C: Height (in meters)

Columns D and E: Weight, before and after (in pounds)

Columns F and G: Cholesterol Level, before and after

Columns H and I: Total Dietary Fat Intake per average day, before and after (in
grams)

Columns J and K: Dietary Cholesterol Intake per average day, before and after
(in milligrams)

Columns L and M: Percent Daily Calories from fat, before and after
(Adapted from Keller, Statistics for
Management and Economics)
Each of you should have already
received 2 assigned variables. For each of the variables you are assigned,
answer the following research questions. Consider each variable
individually. Don’t try to incorporate both of your variables into one
test for any of the research questions. Also, be aware that you may need
to reorganize the data to run the tests and/or create new variables. Remember
that required conditions are dependent on the test chosen, so you MUST
decide the test for each question BEFORE you check required conditions.
You WILL have separate required conditions for each research question!
a) In terms of each of your assigned
variables (weight, cholesterol level, fat intake, cholesterol intake, calories
from fat), is the program a success?
b) Does age impact the amount
of reduction in each variable (weight, cholesterol level, fat intake,
cholesterol intake, calories from fat)?
c) Do males and females differ in
the amount of reduction for each variable (weight, cholesterol
level, fat intake, cholesterol intake, calories from fat)?
You answer should be written in
narrative form with appropriate graphs and output included as needed and should
be submitted in one Word document. You should use Excel for all your
analysis and the p-value criteria to make your decisions. I do not
need to see the seven-step hypothesis testing process, but be sure you include
everything I specify below:
Your write up must include:

A brief introduction describing the case including
your chosen alpha. I do not need a detailed justification for your
alpha.

For each research question, for each of your variables,
you must include:

The test chosen and a clear and complete
explanation for why you chose that specific test. This needs to be more
than simply running through the flowchart steps.

Any analysis required to check the required conditions
(NOTE that if you find that you cannot meet the required conditions for
the test you expected to do, you must use the appropriate non-parametric
test). Include any histograms or hypothesis tests and your decision based
on these tests.

A clear statement of your hypotheses, using proper
symbols and notation.

Your Excel output for the test for each variable pasted
into the document with the p-values you used clearly identified

A clear statement of your conclusion for each
hypothesis test and research question

An overall conclusion pulling everything together.