Def. A response variable measures an outcome and an explanatory variable explains or causes changes in the response variable.

ex. Factors affecting childhood obesity

variables of interest: gender, age, race, bmi, average calories consumed in week, income level, parental education, hours of tv watched per week, hours of physical activity per week, types of activity, parental obesity.

response variable(s): categorical variable - obese or not

explanatory variables: gender, race, age, types of activity, ave. calories consumed per week, hours of physical activity per week, hours of tv watched per week, parental education, income level, parental obesity.