The following appeared in the health section of a magazine on trends and lifestyles.
People who use the artificial sweetener aspartame are better off consuming sugar, since aspartame can actually contribute to weight gain rather than weight loss. For example, high levels of aspartame have been shown to trigger a craving for food by depleting the brain of a chemical that registers satiety, or the sense of being full. Furthermore, studies suggest that sugars, if consumed after at least 45 minutes of continuous exercise, actually enhance the body's ability to burn fat. Consequently, those who drink aspartame-sweetened juices after exercise will also lose this calorie-burning benefit. Thus it appears that people consuming aspartame rather than sugar are unlikely to achieve their dietary goals.
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
My analysis
In the passage it is argued by the author that people consuming aspartame rather than sugar are unlikely to achieve their dietary goals. Supports for this claim takes the form primarily of an assumption that aspartame contribute to weight gain rather than weight loss. On deeper analysis of the subject at hand, however, it becomes apparent that certain relevant aspects have not been taken into account, leading to a number of flaws.
One such flaw is the assumption that consumption of artificial sweetener aspartame always triggers a craving for food by depleting the brain of a chemical that registers satiety, or the sense of being full. The fact that high level of consumption causes craving for food does not mean that it is true for normal consumption of aspartame also. In order to strengthen the argument, author should provide more facts which can make a direct relation between the consumption levels of aspartame and carving for food.
Another statement, significantly weakening the argument, is that people drinking aspartame-sweetened juices after at least 45 minutes of continuous exercise will lose the calorie-burning effect. However author does not take into account other benefits linked with the aspartame-sweetened juice intake rather than normal sugar. To overcome this flaw, the argument should contain factual information to support this statement, such as statistics showing calorie burning required per day for people taking sugar compared to those taking aspartame.
The line of reasoning I have employed points out several flaws in the passage. After closer examination of the matter, I conclude that the above argument is not logically sound.
People who use the artificial sweetener aspartame are better off consuming sugar, since aspartame can actually contribute to weight gain rather than weight loss. For example, high levels of aspartame have been shown to trigger a craving for food by depleting the brain of a chemical that registers satiety, or the sense of being full. Furthermore, studies suggest that sugars, if consumed after at least 45 minutes of continuous exercise, actually enhance the body's ability to burn fat. Consequently, those who drink aspartame-sweetened juices after exercise will also lose this calorie-burning benefit. Thus it appears that people consuming aspartame rather than sugar are unlikely to achieve their dietary goals.
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
My analysis
In the passage it is argued by the author that people consuming aspartame rather than sugar are unlikely to achieve their dietary goals. Supports for this claim takes the form primarily of an assumption that aspartame contribute to weight gain rather than weight loss. On deeper analysis of the subject at hand, however, it becomes apparent that certain relevant aspects have not been taken into account, leading to a number of flaws.
One such flaw is the assumption that consumption of artificial sweetener aspartame always triggers a craving for food by depleting the brain of a chemical that registers satiety, or the sense of being full. The fact that high level of consumption causes craving for food does not mean that it is true for normal consumption of aspartame also. In order to strengthen the argument, author should provide more facts which can make a direct relation between the consumption levels of aspartame and carving for food.
Another statement, significantly weakening the argument, is that people drinking aspartame-sweetened juices after at least 45 minutes of continuous exercise will lose the calorie-burning effect. However author does not take into account other benefits linked with the aspartame-sweetened juice intake rather than normal sugar. To overcome this flaw, the argument should contain factual information to support this statement, such as statistics showing calorie burning required per day for people taking sugar compared to those taking aspartame.
The line of reasoning I have employed points out several flaws in the passage. After closer examination of the matter, I conclude that the above argument is not logically sound.
