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A study of high blood pressure treatments found that certain

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A study of high blood pressure treatments found that certain

by guerrero » Sun Sep 29, 2013 2:17 pm
A study of high blood pressure treatments found that certain meditation techniques and the most commonly prescribed drugs are equally effective if the selected treatment is followed as directed over the long term. Half the patients given drugs soon stop taking them regularly, whereas eighty percent of the study's participants who were taught meditation techniques were still regularly using them five years later. Therefore, the meditation treatment is the one likely to produce the best results.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

A. People who have high blood pressure are usually advised by their physicians to make changes in diet that have been found in many cases to reduce the severity of the condition.
B. The participants in the study were selected in part on the basis of their willingness to use meditation techniques.
C. Meditation techniques can reduce the blood pressure of people who do not suffer from high blood pressure.
D. Some of the participants in the study whose high blood pressure was controlled through meditation techniques were physicians.
E. Many people with dangerously high blood pressure are unaware of their condition.


source -GMATPREP . Why A is wrong ?

OA B
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by [email protected] » Sun Sep 29, 2013 3:59 pm
Hi guerrero,

This CR prompt is based solely on a study that compares two techniques to treat high blood pressure: drugs and meditation.

Conclusion: meditation is likely to produce the best results.

Evidence: in the study, of those who took drugs, half stop taking the drugs; of those who did meditation, 80% still did it 5 years later.

We are asked to weaken the prompt.

Answer A brings up a different approach to lowering blood pressure, but this has no relevance on the argument (that meditation is more likely to produce the best results COMPARED TO drugs). In a different type of question, answer A COULD be a weakener, but not in this one.

We need an answer that would likely state that meditation won't work for everyone the way it worked for people in the study. With THAT nudge, I think that you can spot the correct answer.

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by rakeshd347 » Sun Sep 29, 2013 5:49 pm
guerrero wrote:A study of high blood pressure treatments found that certain meditation techniques and the most commonly prescribed drugs are equally effective if the selected treatment is followed as directed over the long term. Half the patients given drugs soon stop taking them regularly, whereas eighty percent of the study's participants who were taught meditation techniques were still regularly using them five years later. Therefore, the meditation treatment is the one likely to produce the best results.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

A. People who have high blood pressure are usually advised by their physicians to make changes in diet that have been found in many cases to reduce the severity of the condition.
B. The participants in the study were selected in part on the basis of their willingness to use meditation techniques.
C. Meditation techniques can reduce the blood pressure of people who do not suffer from high blood pressure.
D. Some of the participants in the study whose high blood pressure was controlled through meditation techniques were physicians.
E. Many people with dangerously high blood pressure are unaware of their condition.


source -GMATPREP . Why A is wrong ?

OA B
B should be the correct answer clearly out of all.
To answer your question let me elaborate here:
The argument is here that out of two methods (meditation and medicine) meditation is better and it will produce the best results. Now we have to weaken it. We have to show that NO it will not produce the best results or it will NOT produce the best results for everyone. Thats what B says. Only people who chose meditation they like meditation and not everyone is willing to do it ( either they are not able to do it or they don't want to do it).
A on the other hand suggest a new method about the diet. Now who cares here about the diet. Our scope of the passage is only between these two methods bringing another method will not weaken the argument.
For better clarification ask yourself let us say that diet was recommended by physician and that caused better result. But those people who took that diet what were they doing?( they were doing meditation or taking drugs) we don't know that So A doesn't have any affect on the argument.
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