After studying Module 4: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following: You want to conduct a study to determine whether fruit consumption leads to reduce weight. Why would an experiment be better than an observational study?
- Your initial post should be at least 200 words/numbers or a combination of both. Your initial post is worth 60 points.
- Additional readings must be cited, and formatted in the current APA style.
- You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending or adding supplementary distinctions to their posts
- Experiment VS Observational Study
Experiment VS Observational Study
To determine whether fruit consumption leads to reduced weight, an experiment would be more effective than an observational study due to its ability to establish causation. Observational studies are generally limited to identifying correlations, which means they can show if fruit consumption and weight reduction occur together but cannot determine if one directly causes the other. This limitation exists because observational studies lack control over extraneous variables, which are factors that might influence the outcome (e.g., participants’ activity levels, calorie intake from other foods, and lifestyle factors). As a result, these studies are more susceptible to bias and confounding variables, making it difficult to determine the true impact of fruit consumption on weight.
In contrast, an experiment allows for controlled conditions where variables can be isolated. By using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, participants could be randomly assigned to either a group that increases fruit consumption or a control group with no dietary changes. By holding other factors constant and measuring weight changes over time, we could more accurately assess whether fruit consumption itself leads to weight reduction. This approach strengthens the validity of findings, as randomization reduces bias and controls help minimize confounding influences.
For example, suppose we conduct a six-month RCT where one group eats two servings of fruit daily, while the control group consumes no additional fruit. This setup allows us to attribute any observed weight changes directly to the increased fruit intake. In addition, an experiment’s structured data collection and statistical analysis will provide clear and interpretable results, offering valuable insights for dietary recommendations on fruit consumption and weight management.
References
Schunemann, H. J., Woodhead, M., & Jaeschke, R. (2019). Methods for developing guidelines and systematic reviews. In Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (pp. 1-15).