Question

Several international students have performed a glucose tolerance test as part of a scientific study of lactase persistence. Here are the results:

	Blood glucose (mg / dL)
Minutes after drinking milk	0	30	60	90	120
Krystian	117	128	146	160	152
Isobel	97	111	135	154	143
Wang	96	99	105	101	98
Mbutu	108	116	120	141	139
Lucy	94	109	128	143	140
Ravi	97	96	94	83	88

1. Draw line graphs (all on the same grid) to show this data visually. Use a different color for each person.

2. Based on your graph, divide these students into two groups.

3. Imagine that the same test had been done on these individuals as babies. What do you predict the shape of the graph would be like? EXPLAIN your reasoning.

4. When someone takes a blood glucose test, they are usually asked to fast for twelve hours before the test. Why do you think this is done?

5. Would it be a mistake to consider blood glucose level a proxy data? EXPLAIN.

Answer 1

1. the following graph could be made on the basis of given data in the table

2. on the basis of graph, it is clearly visible that there are two groups of students one with high glucose level (Krystian, Isobel, Mbutu and Lucy) and with normal glucose level  (wang and Ravi) after two hour. the students with high glucose level may suffer from glucose intolerance.

3. glucose tolerance test measure the ability of the body cells to utilize the given 75 gm of glucose orally, adults can utilize this glucose with in 2 hours after orally given and the glucose level becomes normal in 2 hour. it it is so then the person is considered as normal, has no abnormality related to glucose tolerance.

in case of new born babies and actively growing child they need more glucose as their metabolism is actively utilizing the glucose either for growth or for energy. hence they can utilize glucose early than adults, if they have no hormonal and any other glucose utilization issue.

4. when some one is tested, he has to keep fast in last (before) 12 hours so that all the excess sugars or glucose present in the body will be eliminated and reduced to lower limits ~70 mg / dl or normal values.  

5. the level of glucose in the blood is keep on floating regularly based on the type of diet we eat. if we eat sweets (to much) or carbohydrate rich diet, the glucose goes beyond to the normal limits. when we eat protein rich diet the glucose level is found within the normal limits. in the same way hormone (insulin and glucagon) and internal environment (tumour, cancerous cells) also affect the glucose level in the blood. hence there is no fixed level of glucose in blood it keep on floating. so it can not be considered as proxy data because it changes rapidly.