Question

Blood pressure Larry came home very excited after a visit to his doctor. He announced proudly to his wife, “My doctor says my blood pressure is at the $90th$ percentile among men like me. That means I’m better off than about $90\%$ of similar men.” How should his wife, who is a statistician, respond to Larry’s statement?

Short answer

Not correct.

Step-by-step solution

Given information

"My doctor says my blood pressure is in the $90th$ percentile among men like me," he boasted to his wife. That indicates I'm in a better position than roughly $90\%$ of similar males.

Concept

The percentile of an individual is the percentage of the distribution that is less than the data value of the individual.

Explanation

This assertion is incorrect because her blood pressure is higher than $90\%$ of the population of men her age, as defined by the $90th$ percentile, and hence her blood pressure is high.