Artificial Sweeteners

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Artificial Sweeteners

by David@VeritasPrep » Mon Oct 18, 2010 3:14 pm
Here is another original question, let me know what you think!


Artificial Sweeteners are between 200 and 600 times sweeter than ordinary sugar. This allows food manufacturers to use much less of the sweetener to get similar levels of sweetness. Since adding sugar adds calories without adding vitamins, fiber, or protein, eliminating these calories using a sugar substitute allows products such as diet sodas to be nearly calorie free. Switching from products with sugar to those with a sugar substitute should result in weight loss; however, research shows that the majority of people who use sugar substitutes experience a net weight gain.
Which of the following most helps to resolve the above paradox?

A) Most Americans prefer the taste of beverages with real sugar to those with sugar substitute.

B) Sugar substitutes cannot be used in many high-calorie, high-fat foods, such as hamburgers and french fries, which do not have any added sugar to replace.

C) Substituting a 2-liter bottle of soda that has sugar substitute for one that has real sugar would result in over 1000 fewer calories consumed.

D) Because sugar substitutes are so sweet, those people who consume them regularly become addicted to sweetness of all types, including sugar.

E) A reduced calorie diet is most effective in creating weight loss if it is combined with frequent exercise.
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by deepshi291 » Mon Oct 18, 2010 9:24 pm
OA D?

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by [email protected] » Mon Oct 18, 2010 10:53 pm
IMO-D

but need explanation over E

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by bubbliiiiiiii » Mon Oct 18, 2010 10:54 pm
David@VeritasPrep wrote:Here is another original question, let me know what you think!


Artificial Sweeteners are between 200 and 600 times sweeter than ordinary sugar. This allows food manufacturers to use much less of the sweetener to get similar levels of sweetness. Since adding sugar adds calories without adding vitamins, fiber, or protein, eliminating these calories using a sugar substitute allows products such as diet sodas to be nearly calorie free. Switching from products with sugar to those with a sugar substitute should result in weight loss; however, research shows that the majority of people who use sugar substitutes experience a net weight gain.
Which of the following most helps to resolve the above paradox?

I perceive that here we have to look for an option that would explain, though artificial sweetners are required in less quantities to achieve same sweetness as that of sugar, why people are gaining weight?

In the passage its given, that sugar would have calories but lack protein, vitamin or fibre which a Artificial sweetner may have!

A) Most Americans prefer the taste of beverages with real sugar to those with sugar substitute.
Not appropriate since this option talks about people who consume sugar but we are focussed on Aritificial sugar consumers. Thus, ruled out.

B) Sugar substitutes cannot be used in many high-calorie, high-fat foods, such as hamburgers and french fries, which do not have any added sugar to replace.
Not appropriate since it talks about foods which cannot have sugar substitutes.

C) Substituting a 2-liter bottle of soda that has sugar substitute for one that has real sugar would result in over 1000 fewer calories consumed.
No, since it re-iterates what is given in question that Artificial sugar has less calories.

D) Because sugar substitutes are so sweet, those people who consume them regularly become addicted to sweetness of all types, including sugar.
I dont think this could be an answer since, this states that once people are addicted to sweetness of artificial sugar they might change their preference to sugar, which inturn could add to their weight increase.

E) A reduced calorie diet is most effective in creating weight loss if it is combined with frequent exercise.
This appears to appropriate since, unlike sugar, artificial sugar may proteins/fibre that needs to be burnt when they are consumed and exercise seems to be one of the option for burning extra proteins that people might have earned by consumption of artificial sugar. Thus E.

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by bubbliiiiiiii » Mon Oct 18, 2010 10:58 pm
David, I have put forth my thought process. It would be great if you could comment/compliment it and provide necessary suggestions to improve it and fine tune it.

Please correct me if my thought process if entirely wrong. :)

Regards,

Pranay

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by shovan85 » Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:08 pm
Confusion between D and E.

D says "People take all sweet including sugar". But Premise says "People have substituted sugar with Artificial Sweetener". If they have switched then why would they take sugar. This statement kind of conflicts the premises.

E says "The most effective way Artificial Sweetener + Exercise ". This is not the only way but most effective way which does not take the option to extreme. While resolving paradox I guess it is ok to include little outside information (as Exercise here).

IMO E
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by rooster » Tue Oct 19, 2010 2:22 am
IMO D because if a sugar substitute were to be used to cut sweets out, it actually ends up doing the opposite, causing a person to be addicted to sweetness, which includes sugar. Thus the purpose of cutting out sweets ends up being the cause of even more sugar.

E makes the statement that less calories with exercise creates the most effective way in losing weight, but does it say that a reduced calorie diet alone will not allow weight loss? The question we need to figure out is if sugar substitutes offer virtually no calories, why would they cause people to gain weight? This answer does not state anything about gaining weight due to lower calorie intake.

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by Dangerous Dude » Tue Oct 19, 2010 4:05 am
I go with D...

As people are getting addicted.. So even if they consume artificial sugar having less calories in large quantity then it may cross the calories intake by sugar alone.......

E .. outside information which is making it irrelevant in context...

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by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Oct 19, 2010 4:27 am
OA is D.

Nice job Rooster!!

Remember with a paradox you are really focused in on the surprising fact, and you need to explain - in light of the other fact. So in this case we need to explain how persons who use artificial sweeteners often gain weight even though the artificial sweeteners have no calories and replaced sugar, which has plenty of calories.

This one has a little bit of a trick to it and that is that if you read the premises carefully, it does not say that they "replace all sugar with sweeteners" or that they "never eat sugar" it only says "the majority of people who use sugar substitutes experience a net weight gain." So you can see that these leaves open the possibility that they, for example, drink diet soda instead of regular, but that they also develop a taste for sugary donuts, cookies and other sweets as a result. If "D" is true and they crave sweet things in general this could happen.

One of the things that the GMAT writers will try to do is to get you to make assumptions and you must avoid doing this. Remember to return to the text if you have a doubt. For strengthen and weaken it is the conclusion to turn to, for paradox return to the two sides of the paradox and make sure you are using both of these correctly.

Answer choice "E" is meant to deflect attention and I think that it only works well because there is no obvious right answer. "E" does not mention artificial sweeteners and is true of people who use sweeteners and those who do not - it does not explain why those who use the sweeteners should have a difference, i.e. weight gain. This answer choice requires the assumption that artificial sweetener users do not exercise, which is certainly beyond what we know.

By the way, I took this from a recent interview I heard on U.S. National Public Radio and it appears there is some science behind this. Anyway, enough science that I feel good about my occasional use of actual sugar. Here is the link to the interview. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... t=1&f=1019
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by diebeatsthegmat » Tue Oct 19, 2010 6:01 am
David@VeritasPrep wrote:Here is another original question, let me know what you think!


Artificial Sweeteners are between 200 and 600 times sweeter than ordinary sugar. This allows food manufacturers to use much less of the sweetener to get similar levels of sweetness. Since adding sugar adds calories without adding vitamins, fiber, or protein, eliminating these calories using a sugar substitute allows products such as diet sodas to be nearly calorie free. Switching from products with sugar to those with a sugar substitute should result in weight loss; however, research shows that the majority of people who use sugar substitutes experience a net weight gain.
Which of the following most helps to resolve the above paradox?

A) Most Americans prefer the taste of beverages with real sugar to those with sugar substitute.

B) Sugar substitutes cannot be used in many high-calorie, high-fat foods, such as hamburgers and french fries, which do not have any added sugar to replace.

C) Substituting a 2-liter bottle of soda that has sugar substitute for one that has real sugar would result in over 1000 fewer calories consumed.

D) Because sugar substitutes are so sweet, those people who consume them regularly become addicted to sweetness of all types, including sugar.

E) A reduced calorie diet is most effective in creating weight loss if it is combined with frequent exercise.
thanks a lot for all CR questions you have posted, they are really nice questions to practice. i appreciate what you are doing to help us for tests... thank again david!

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by pzazz12 » Mon Oct 25, 2010 4:01 am
I go for D.

what is OA??

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by Arcane66 » Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:56 am
pzazz12 wrote:I go for D.

what is OA??
Are you serious? lol

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by David@VeritasPrep » Mon Oct 25, 2010 12:53 pm
pzazz12 -

What I think that Arcane 66 is saying is that you should look above for the official answer before asking what it is!

I have given an explanation and the OA 2 posts above yours.

Thanks!
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by mundasingh123 » Sun Jan 09, 2011 12:29 am
David@VeritasPrep wrote:pzazz12 -

What I think that Arcane 66 is saying is that you should look above for the official answer before asking what it is!

I have given an explanation and the OA 2 posts above yours.

Thanks!
David,Can you explain why are u eliminating B.
Is it because it requires us to assume that people who consume sugar substitutes also consume High Calory foods like Burgers?
As u said , any option that requires an additional Assumption must be dropped,Doesnt D also require us to assume that People who consume sugar substitutes also consume real Sugar.

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by mundasingh123 » Sun Jan 09, 2011 12:31 am
I was confused between B and D and ultimately i decided to go with B because of the assumption which i detailed in my last post.I guesss i found this question the toughest of all the original posts by David