The Centre for Nutrition and Food Research at Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh studied the relationship between sugar consumption and weight gain (Fitness, May 2002). All the people who participated in the study were divided into two groups and both of these groups were put on low calorie, low-fat diets. The diet of the people in the first group was low in sugar, but the people in the second group received as much as 10% of their calories from sucrose. Both groups stayed on their respective diets for 8 weeks. During these 8 weeks, participants in both groups lost 1/2 to 3/4 pound per week.
a. Was this a designed experiment or an observational study?
b. Was there a control group in this study?
c. Was this a double-blind experiment?