Adolescent obesity is a serious health risk affecting more than 5 million
young people in the United States alone. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric
banding has the potential to be a safe and effective treatment. Fifty
adolescents between 14 and 18 years old with a body mass index higher than 35
were recruited from Melbourne, Australia, for the study. \(\underline{16}\)
Twenty-five were randomly selected to undergo gastric banding, and the
remaining 25 were assigned to a supervised lifestyle intervention program
involving diet, exercise, and behavior modification. All subjects were
followed for two years. Here are the weight losses, in kilograms, for the
subjects who completed the study. In the gastric banding group:
Does gastric banding result in significantly greater weight loss than a
supervised lifestyle intervention program? Use a permutation test to estimate
the appropriate \(P\)-value.