Correlational Methods - Essay Example

Correlational Methods due: Introduction Family meals have been acknowledged as a practical cause against obesity amongst the youth. On the other hand, gender specificities regarding the relationship between the regularities of family meals as well as body mass index (BMI) are yet to be investigated. The reason for this study is to look at the relationship between the regularity of family meals, as well as BMI among female and male adolescents, while controlling for likely confounding causes related to BMI, for instance snack-food eating, adolescents age, and parental education.

The research participants included 734 male students and 1030 female students (with a mean age of 14.12 years) that were enrolled from middle schools, as well as high schools within the Canadian capital region. Participants’ confirmed and finalized self-report measures to evaluate the rate at which family meals as well as risk factors related to BMI increase, which was resultant from objective measures of weight and height (Goldfield et al., 2011. 539).Meaning of the terms correlations as well as confounding variables (in my own words, and cited sources)Correlation is a measurement of the bond between two constant numerical variables.

It illustrates the direction as well as strength of the relationship.http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/statcorr.phpConfounding is whereby several variables can act upon another, hence making it difficult to isolate one or several variables.http://www.experiment-resources.com/confounding-variables.html An introduction and brief description of the study in a single paragraphThe study examines the literature on causes that contribute or correlate to obesity in adolescent children. It examines several different studies examining causes like exercise, diet, family history, education, income, breastfeeding, and gender thought in impacting BMI and obesity.

Described discussion of correlations and confounding variables within the studyThe authors discuss the range as well as the number of studies that found certain types of relationships with high BMI within children and if gender is the cause. This study also determined that the correlation between family meals, as well as BMI, is greater in females than in males, and is consistent with the regression analyses. The study findings showed that families eating meals together could be a protected reason against obesity within female adolescents, but not male adolescents.

Correlations as well as Confounding variables found within the article:Confounding variables:1. Behavioral eating, sedentary activity, status of BMI on weight gain within children (Melanie et al., 2011 130).2. Confounding reasons related to BMI, for example, snack-food eating, parental education, and adolescent’s age.Correlations:1. BMI of children correlates clearly with the amount of TV time viewed or video games playeda. BMI of Boys correlate clearly with the amount of physical activityDid the researchers aim to overcome or control the confounding variables?

If so, how?Yes, because after controlling for suggested confounding variables, a higher rate of family meals was linked to lower BMI within females, but not males. A Z-alteration test of equality regarding adjusted correlation coefficients indicated an important trend (p = 0.06), signifying that the association amid family meals, as well as BMI, is stronger in females than in males and is consistent with the researchers regression analyses (Goldfield et al., 2011). The researchers findings suggest that eating together as a family could be a protective factor alongside obesity in adolescent females, but not in adolescent males.

ConclusionIn summary, results from this study have significant implications for health care practitioners and parents advocating for more regular family meals as part of a complete obesity prevention as well as treatment program for adolescent females. In addition, the root foundations of some of these issues were rather overlooked as well as the true intention of this study was not exactly obvious but proved that some intelligent thought had been given to several of these variables in an effort to comprehend a bigger and more overall picture.

ReferencesMelannie,L.K, Kitsantas, P., Tony Yang. Y., & Villarruel, A.M. ( 2011). Factors Associated With Obesity in Latino Children:A Review of the Literature. Retrieved April 14. 2014 from http://s3.amazonaws.com/f01.justanswer.com/ourmommy1/2012-03-15_105240_last.pdfGoldfield, G. S., Murray, M. A., Buchholz, A., Henderson, K., Obeid, N., Kukaswadia, A., & Flament, M. F. (2011). Family meals and body mass index among adolescents: effects of gender. Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, 36(4), 539-546.

Retrieved April 14, 2014 from http://www.haloresearch.ca/blog/2011/08/27/dr-gary-goldfield-publishes-new-paper-on-the-relationship-between-family-meals-and-body-mass-index/Fulkerson, J.A, Pasch, K.E, Melissa S.H, Farbakhsh K, & Perry, C, L. (2011). Longitudinal associations between family dinner and adolescent perceptions of parent-child communication among racially-diverse urban youth; 24(3): 261–270. Retrieved April 14, 2014 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2896222/pdf/nihms184947.

pdfNeumark-Sztainer D, Wall M, Story M, Berger J. M & Larson N. (2011). Parenting Style and Family Meals: Cross-Sectional and 5-year Longitudinal Associations. Retrieved April 14, 2014 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2906915/