2. (3 points for each part) One of the measures used in studying health and obesity is the Body Mass Index (BMI). A BMI measure between 20 and 25 is considered healthy; a measure of over 30 makes a person obese. The average BMI in the United States rose from 25 to about 27.75 in the last 25 years. This is considered a large increase, and many social scientists have been trying to explain this trend. The results below come from a regression estimated using a national cross section sample of adults. The dependent variable was BMI, and the sample size was over 42000.
|
Independent Variable |
Sample Mean of Variable (Standard Deviation) |
Coefficient in Regression (Standard Error) |
|
Restaurants per capita in respondent’s state |
11.04 (2.27) |
.473 (.324) |
|
Age in years |
41.24 (16.68) |
.326 (.016) |
|
Age squared |
— |
-.003 (.0002) |
|
Cigarette tax per pack in cents in respondent’s state |
22.58 (9.77) |
.058 (.032) |
|
Cigarette tax squared |
— |
-.001 (.0004) |
|
Household income in 10,000s of dollars |
2.91 (2.39) |
-.393 (.168) |
a. According to this regression, at about what age does BMI reach its highest level in American adults, other things equal?
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