Epidemiological studies are applicable to communicable and non-communicable diseases. Childhood obesity is an area that is receiving more attention in public health due to the multiple morbidities that emerge as a result of this condition. Below are links

Epidemiological studies are applicable to communicable and non-communicable diseases. Childhood obesity is an area that is receiving more attention in public health due to the multiple morbidities that emerge as a result of this condition. Below are links to a cross-sectional study and a case-control study. Imagine that you are interested in conducting a case-control or cross-sectional study proposal of childhood obesity vs. birth weight (prenatal and early life influences). Both articles below address prenatal influences on childhood obesity and birth weight using different approaches. 

Article 1 

Article 2

Using the information in the articles choose one of the following questions to focus on in your initial post:

1. How would you select cases and controls for this study and how would you define exposure and outcome variables for a case-control study design? What other factors would you control for? 
2. How would you design a proposal measuring the effect of birthweight on childhood obesity for a cross-sectional study design? What other factors would you control for? 

Respond to someone who chose a different study design than your own. Compare the similarities and differences between the two. Make sure to point out the strengths and weaknesses of each.