Evaluate the Following Generalization(s), Identifying Sample, Population, Attribute of Interest

question 128

Essay

Evaluate the following generalization(s), identifying sample, population, attribute of interest, and the extent to which the claims involved are knowable. Consider carefully the size and diversification of the sample and the extent to which the population differs or may differ from the sample; remember, what's important is that the sample be representative.
Osteoporosis is a degeneration of bone tissue that afflicts between fifteen and twenty million Americans and leads to approximately 1.3 million bone fractures every year. The condition is found mainly among women. A conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health in 1994 reported that calcium was one of the "mainstays of prevention and management of osteoporosis." In a localized study designed to help predict the future incidence of osteoporosis in women in a midwestern community, a county hospital did a survey on calcium intake. It selected five hundred women at random and asked them to keep a record of their food and dietary supplements for one month. The data were analyzed to determine the amounts of calcium each woman received. It was determined that 85 percent of the surveyed women received less calcium than the recommended amount of 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams per day. County medical authorities concluded that about 85 percent of the community's women were getting less than the recommended intake of calcium. They also concluded that local medical facilities would soon see an increase in the number of cases of osteoporosis as the calcium deficiency showed its effects. Given just the information presented here, how much confidence would you have in these conclusions?

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