PrepTest 140, Section 1, Question 15
Greatly exceeding the recommended daily intake of vitamins(63 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AFew people who(15 more words not shown)
- BSome people who(13 more words not shown)
- CSome people mistakenly(17 more words not shown)
- DMost people who(9 more words not shown)
- EManufacturers are unaware(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
One serving supplies the full recommended daily amount. What happens when someone pours two or three servings while thinking it's one?
For a food with that vitamin content, two servings supply 200 percent of the recommendation and three supply 300 percent. So the serving-size mistake gives us a straightforward way people can exceed the daily amount.
What we’re looking for
Does that mean they reach toxic levels? We aren't told. The warning concerns greatly exceeding the recommendation, without identifying the harmful threshold. Two or three times the recommendation and twenty-five times the recommendation are very different amounts; we shouldn't invent where the danger begins. For the supported-inference question, stick to the smaller claim: some consumers exceed the recommended intake.
Working the answers
- A
Misjudging a serving isn't the same as being unaware of the recommended vitamin intake. Someone could know the recommended amount but pour more cereal than the manufacturer counts as a serving. We aren't given information showing how few people know the recommendation.
- BCorrect
Some fortified foods provide the entire recommended daily amount in one manufacturer-defined serving, while many consumers eat multiple such servings. That supports the conclusion that some consumers exceed the recommended intake of vitamins A and D. We don't need the stronger claim that those people necessarily reach toxic levels.
- C
The mistake described concerns portion size, not a belief that extra vitamins are healthy. Someone could want to follow the recommendation and exceed it accidentally. The passage doesn't establish this belief about the health value of higher intake.
- D
We don't know what most consumers eat over a whole day, what supplements they take, or what those supplements contain. The passage doesn't support a blanket recommendation that most people eating fortified foods should avoid all vitamin supplements. That's much broader than the intake inference we can make.
- E
The manufacturers could be aware that people pour oversized portions. Nothing in the passage tells us what the manufacturers know about actual consumption. Their definition of a standard serving doesn't establish their awareness or lack of awareness.
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