PrepTest 135, Section 2, Question 2
Dietitian: Many diet-conscious consumers are excited about new(69 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- APeople tend to(16 more words not shown)
- BMost consumers who(17 more words not shown)
- C"Fake fat" products(11 more words not shown)
- D"Fake fat" in(12 more words not shown)
- E"Fake fat" in(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Taking fat out of a food doesn't automatically make it a weight-loss tool.
I can see the appeal: keep the flavor and texture people enjoy, but remove the fat's harmful effects. It's the same basic attraction as a sweet-tasting drink made with a sugar substitute. Still, I'd want to know what the substitute actually does. Does the food remain high in calories? Are there other drawbacks? Those are questions to investigate, not facts we've been given.
The dietitian's evidence takes a particular route. People who eat the fake-fat foods tend to consume at least as many extra calories as they saved. Suppose the substitution saves someone 100 calories, but the person then eats an additional 100 calories elsewhere. The supposed saving has disappeared. The study says that compensation happens whether or not people know they're eating fake fat; we don't have to explain it as a deliberate decision to reward themselves with more food.
What we’re looking for
That gives the dietitian a reason to doubt the promised weight-loss benefit. For the main-conclusion question, keep the evidence and the point separate. The extra calorie intake is the reason. Consumers are likely to be disappointed if they expect the substitute to help them lose weight—that's the conclusion.
Working the answers
- A
The study doesn't establish a fixed daily calorie intake regardless of everything people eat. It describes a tendency to compensate for calories saved by fake fat, and the compensation can be more than the saving. A both broadens the evidence and misses the conclusion about weight-loss expectations.
- B
Nutrition and weight loss aren't interchangeable. A food might offer some nutritional benefit without helping someone lose weight. The dietitian addresses consumers who expect weight loss, not everyone who thinks the products are more nutritious.
- C
Failing to help people lose weight is different from contributing more to obesity than other foods do. The argument doesn't make that comparison. We shouldn't turn doubt about a benefit into a claim that the substitute is worse than the alternatives.
- DCorrect
The substitute probably won't help consumers reach their weight-loss goals. That's the dietitian's point: the additional calories tend to offset the calories saved, so the expected benefit is unlikely to materialize. The conclusion is a likelihood claim, not a guarantee that no user can ever lose weight.
- E
The products are designed to imitate fat's flavor and consistency. That doesn't establish that most consumers cannot distinguish them by taste. More importantly, the argument's conclusion concerns weight loss, not how convincing the imitation tastes.
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