You are a staff epidemiologist for a research and consulting firm. Your research and consulting firm have been hired by a local hospital to assess the effects of disease occurrences on health care planning. The study period will cover the past five years, during which the region served by the local hospital has seen an increase in medical conditions, similar to other parts of the United States. Your role is to review relevant information related to the hospital’s readiness to anticipate health care needs related to noninfectious diseases and resources to address those needs. In this part of the project, identify and evaluate epidemiologic studies that have direct applicability to noninfectious diseases, which may result in an increased utilization of health care resources. Your evaluation will be presented to the hospital board. Select a medical condition that exists as a direct consequence of lifestyle choices. Provide a description of the condition. Review of at least two experimental and observational studies of this condition. Critique of the studies in terms of study design’s strengths and weaknesses, and the relevance and usefulness of the data. Critique of the epidemiologic implications of the studies, including morbidity and mortality repercussions, and potential treatment implications. Suggestions for two additional studies, including a description of the preferred design, which is value-added in understanding the medical condition from an epidemiologic standpoint and how that goal could be achieved through those studies.