We know that in the US and in Britain, people are drinking wine in more similar quantities now than before. From the info given, that might lead us to think that the incidence of heart disease should be becoming more similar in the two countries, all other factors being equal. There are a lot of potential problems here; it may be, for example, that per capita American wine drinking is increasing only because a few people are drinking a ton more than before - it may not be the case that more Americans are drinking wine. Or it may be that there is some other factor which contributes to heart disease - say exercise, or diet - and while Americans may be lowering their risk of heart disease by drinking more wine than before, they may be increasing their risk by eating worse or exercising less. Or it may be that, for example, people who were never at great risk of heart disease in the US have started drinking wine, or that people who were never at great risk of heart disease in Britain have stopped drinking wine. There are very many potential resolutions to the apparent paradox in the question, so Process of Elimination may be the best approach here. But, if have information about the reasons that wine drinking levels have become more similar in the two countries, that may contribute to an explanation. E tells us that young people in Britain are drinking less than before; presumably younger people are at less risk of heart disease than older people, so this would help to explain why wine drinking levels are more similar but heart disease levels are not.

Looking at other answer choices, A tells us about the causes of heart disease; that's not relevant. B tells us that saturated fat consumption has dropped significantly in both countries. If we knew that the drop was greater in Britain, that might help to resolve the paradox, but we have no comparison between the drops in the two countries, so B doesn't help us to determine why the change in the difference of wine consumption in the two countries has not led to a change in the difference of incidence in heart disease. Similarly, D rules out other factors that might have helped to resolve the paradox, so D does the opposite of what we are looking for. C tells us that wine-drinking is increasing in the US. It doesn't matter whether drinking increased in the US or decreased in Britain; we need to know why this has not had an effect on the difference in incidence of heart disease.
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E for me
If consumption of wine by youngsters has declined, it would explain why, despite the overall narrowing of wine consumption b/w US/France, there is no change in the overall heart disease; the decrease of wine consumption affects only younger people who are not affected by heart diseases (only middle-aged people are affected)
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My explanation

Which of the following, if true, most helps to account for the lack of convergence noted above?

A. Consumption of saturated fats is related more strongly to the growth of fatty deposits on
artery walls, which reduce blood flow to the heart, than it is to heart disease directly. this doesn't tell us about why US heart disease rate is not matching up with heart disease rate of france

B. Over the past 30 years, per-capita consumption of saturated fats has remained essentially
unchanged in the United States but has increased somewhat in France. this statement suggests that heart disease rates of two countries might be going towards convergence. we need to find answer that explains why there is a lack of convergence in heart disease

C. Reports of the health benefits of red wine have led many people in the United States to drink
red wine regularly. in US,wine consumption has increased but nothing mentioned about saturated fat consumption rate increase/decrease which contributes to heart disease so this doesn't explain lack of convergence in heart rates

D. Cigarette smoking, which can also contribute to heart disease, is only slightly more common
in France than in the United States. if cigarette smoking increases somewhat in France, but doesn't tell convincingly about huge impact of heart disease due to increased smoking in France

E. Regular consumption of red wine is declining dramatically among young adults in France, and
heart disease typically does not manifest itself until middle age.[/quote] correct, dramatic reduction of red wine consumption among youths in France means difference in wine consumption is narrowing between two countries but there is no consumption reduction among middle age people in france who are prone to heart disease. This tells why there is a convergence on wine consumption but nothing on heart disease rate

A diet high in saturated fats increases a person's risk of developing heart disease. Regular consumption of red wine reduces that risk. Per-capita consumption of saturated fats is currently about the same in France as in the United States, but there is less heart disease there than in the United States because consumption of red wine is higher in France. The difference in regular red-wine consumption has been narrowing, but no similar convergence in heart-disease rates has occurred.

Diet high in saturated fats increases a person's risk of developing heart disease
Regular consumption of red wine reduces the risk .
Per capita consumption of saturated fats is about the same in France and US , but red wine consumption is higher in France .
Difference in red wine consumption has been decreasing , however no similar convergence in heart-disease rates has occurred.

Paradox -

A. Consumption of saturated fats is related more strongly to the growth of fatty deposits on artery walls, which reduce blood flow to the heart, than it is to heart disease directly. Irrelevant

B. Over the past 30 years, per-capita consumption of saturated fats has remained essentially unchanged in the United States but has increased somewhat in France. Irrelevant

C. Reports of the health benefits of red wine have led many people in the United States to drink red wine regularly. Does not help the resolve the paradox

D. Cigarette smoking, which can also contribute to heart disease, is only slightly more common in France than in the United States.
It does not resolve the paradox , but on the contrary does the opposite .

E. Regular consumption of red wine is declining dramatically among young adults in France, and heart disease typically does not manifest itself until middle age.
Correct - Consumption of red wine is declining among young adults in France but the effects will only manifest when these people are in middle age.

Answer E
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The difference in regular red-wine consumption has been narrowing, but no similar convergence in heart-disease rates has occurred.

The narrowing difference need not be because of more consumption of Alcohol from USA. It can also be attributed to what has been mentioned in point E ( Regular consumption of red wine is declining dramatically among young adults in France ).

By this, the red wine consumption of middle age people USA has not changed much, but the middle age people in France continue their regular consumption of red wine.

Hence E is correct.

E. Regular consumption of red wine is declining dramatically among young adults in France, and heart disease typically does not manifest itself until middle age.

why heart diseases are still high " this is wrong statement. Heart disease is unchanged , you should say. Heart disease in Britain is lower than in US. Red wine consumption diminished but heart disease did not increase in Britain. Still unchanged.