Based on data from six countries, the paper A Cross National Relationship Between Sugar Consumption and Major

Based on data from six countries, the paper €œA Cross National Relationship Between Sugar Consumption and Major Depression?€(Depression and Anxiety [2002]: 118€“ 120) concluded that there was a correlation between refined sugar consumption (calories per person per day) and annual rate of major depression (cases per 100 people). The following data are from a graph in the paper:

a. Compute and interpret the correlation coefficient for this data set.
b. Is it reasonable to conclude that increasing sugar consumption leads to higher rates of depression? Explain.
c. What concerns do you have about this study that would make you hesitant to generalize these conclusions to other countries?

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Depression Country Korea United States France Germany Canada New Zealand sugar Consumption 150 300 350 375 390 480 Rate 2.3 3.0 4.4 5.0 5.2 5.7