Regression Equation
Using the unstandardized $B$ values from the Coefficients table, the regression equation for predicting Total Health Care Costs is:
Total Health Care ...
Regression Equation
Using the unstandardized $B$ values from the Coefficients table, the regression equation for predicting Total Health Care Costs is:
Total Health Care Costs = 6005.336 + (121.690 x Cigarette) - (263. x Exercise) + (40.903 x Alcohol) [cite: 3]
Interpretation of Standardized Beta Coefficient
Average Hours of Exercise per Week (beta = -0.272): This coefficient indicates that for every one standard deviation increase in weekly exercise, health care costs are expected to decrease by 0.272 standard deviations, assuming all other variables remain constant. This suggests that exercise has a relatively strong negative relationship with health care costs compared to the other factors in the model.
Practical Implication
In a real-world context, these findings suggest that individuals can potentially lower their annual health care expenses by increasing their weekly physical activity and reducing cigarette consumption, as exercise shows the strongest impact on cost reduction among the studied behaviors.
Diagnostic Note on Assumptions
The model appears reliable for these interpretations as the VIF values are all low (ranging from 1.209 to 1.308), indicating no issues with multicollinearity. Furthermore, the Scatterplot shows a random distribution of residuals, confirming that the assumptions of homoscedasticity and linearity are generally met.