Health care and fitness professionals claim moderate exercise yields heart health. In an attempt to study the effect of moderate exercise on heart health, you track four groups of fellow students through a semester. One group is a control, who are not to change their exercise patterns. The three other groups are assigned to a 30-minute exercise once, twice, or three times a week. Results at the end of the semester show that average blood pressure and pulse rates are nearly the same for the control group as the once-a-week exercisers. Average blood pressure and pulse were slightly lower for the two groups that exercised more often, but not every student showed any difference, and some actually had increased blood pressure and pulse rates.

Question

What conclusions can be drawn from the data collected?
A. A conclusion cannot be drawn based on the information provided.
B. Measured differences in the average blood pressure and pulse of the once-a-week exercise group and the control group will likely show a statistically significant difference from the groups exercising more often.
C. The individual student data variability and even increased blood pressure and pulse in the two groups exercising more often will not change the fact that the average data values will prove to be statistically significant in difference from the control group.
D. Measured differences in the average blood pressure and pulse of the three experimental groups will not likely show a statistically significant difference from the control group.
E. The measured blood pressure and pulse data values of the control group and three exercising groups in this study prove that moderate exercise does not have any beneficial impact on heart health.

Answer 1

D. Measured differences in the average blood pressure and pulse of the three experimental groups will not likely show a statistically significant difference from the control group.