Article #1
Irigoyen, M., Glassman, M. E., Chen, S. & Findley, S. E. (2008). Early onset of overweight and obesity among blow-income 1- to 5-year olds in New York City. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 85(4): 545-554.
Brief summary
The author hypothesized that there is an alarming trend in the rate of obesity in the early-childhood. The worst affected people are the poor, minority and children living in urban towns. The research was significant because it could help the government in developing public health policies to stop the epidemic by creating appropriate strategies. The research was conducted to determine the occurrence of obesity in children aged 1-5 years. In addition, the risk of obesity was estimated according to age and gender.
The sample used in the survey was 1713 children in New York. The findings of the survey showed that boys had a higher likelihood of being overweight compared to girls. In addition, the prevalence of obesity increases with age. Urban children had a high likelihood of being obese. It was concluded that there is an increasing trend in childhood obesity, and the government should intervene (Irigoyen, Glassman, Chen & Findley, 2008).
The types of graphical descriptive statistics used to describe the sample or population
The data collected was stratified according to the age groups of the children studied. In addition, gender was used to stratify the data. Chi-square tests were conducted on the data. In addition, multivariate analysis was conducted. Stacked bar charts were generated to explain the relationship between the variables.
The level of measurement applied, and distribution of the data influenced the use of stacked bar charts because the data was collected in the same period. The age groups of the children sampled could easily be presented in bar graphs because there was a similarity in the various groups.
Article #2
Monteiro, C. A. et al. (2010). Narrowing socioeconomic inequality in child stunting: the Brazilian experience, 1974–2007. Bull World Health Organ, 88:305–311.
Brief summary
Stunted growth in children is determined by the income of the parents and the distribution of basic services in a country. The author conducted a survey on Brazilian children aged 5 years and below. The data used was collected during the national census exercise in 1975, 1989 and 1996. The findings of the research indicated that there was a decline on the rate of stunted growth over the years. In addition, the prevalence of stunted growth declined tremendously.
However, there is a sizeable gap in child stunting between the wealthy and poor. It was concluded that the public policies and development on socio-economic systems have caused the improvement and reduction in child stunting. In addition, a reduction in the gap in the nutritional status was experienced between the rich and poor. It was established that there is a need for future studies to identify whether the trend will be maintained, especially when the world is experiencing an economic crisis (Monteiro et al 2010).
The types of graphical descriptive statistics used to describe the sample or population
Data was collected from census reports. Multi-stage stratification was applied in developing the sample. In addition, cluster sampling was used. Normal distribution curves were used to present the results of the findings using graphs.
The level of measurement applied, and distribution of the data influenced the use of normal distribution graphs because there were different clusters of respondents. The data had to be grouped in separate clusters according to the years. This had been indicated by the graphs developed for the different years when the data was collected.
References
Irigoyen, M., Glassman, M. E., Chen, S. & Findley, S. E. (2008). Early onset of overweight and obesity among blow-income 1- to 5-year olds in New York City. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 85(4), 545-554.
Monteiro, C. A. et al. (2010). Narrowing socioeconomic inequality in child stunting: the Brazilian experience, 1974–2007. Bull World Health Organ, 88, 305–311.