A long-term health study that followed a group of people who were age

Question

A long-term health study that followed a group of people who were age 35 in 1950 found that those whose weight increased by approximately half a kilogram or one pound per year after the age of 35 tended, on the whole, to live longer than those who maintained the weight they had at age 35. This finding seems at variance with other studies that have associated weight gain with a host of health problems that tend to lower life expectancy.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparently conflicting findings?

(A) As people age, muscle and bone tissue tends to make up a smaller and smaller proportion of total body weight

(B) Individuals who reduce their cholesterol levels by losing weight can thereby also reduce their risk of dying from heart attacks or strokes

(C) Smokers, who tend to be leaner than nonsmokers, tend to have shorter life spans than nonsmokers

(D) The normal deterioration of the human immune system with age can be slowed down by a reduction in the number of calories consumed

(E) Diets that tend to lead to weight gain often contain not only excess fat but also unhealthful concentrations of sugar and sodium

nightblade354 · Answer

I am seeing some confusion between (A) and (C), so let's see if I can resolve that.

A long-term health study that followed a group of people who were age 35 in 1950 found that those whose weight increased by approximately half a kilogram or one pound per year after the age of 35 tended, on the whole, to live longer than those who maintained the weight they had at age 35. This finding seems at variance with other studies that have associated weight gain with a host of health problems that tend to lower life expectancy.

OK, so we are told that two groups are compared. They are the same, in terms of age. As they get older, the heavier group lives longer than the lighter group, which goes against science. How do we resolve this? My intial reaction was Group A does something that Group B doesn't do, or that the weight is healthy for some reason, but there is not enough information to feel great about anything, so on to the answers! 
 
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparently conflicting findings?

(A) As people age, muscle and bone tissue tends to make up a smaller and smaller proportion of total body weight -- OK, who cares? This says that muscle and bone make up less percentage of our weight. So let's say the heavier group has less bone and muscle tone then the lighter group. How does this resolve anything? We would have to assume that having less of these things makes you healthier. We cannot say this. And what is filling the gap in weight? Is it healthy? We have no clue, so this is out.

(B) Individuals who reduce their cholesterol levels by losing weight can thereby also reduce their risk of dying from heart attacks or strokes --  Skinnier is healthier in this case. So it doesn't do anything for our argument.

(C) Smokers, who tend to be leaner than nonsmokers, tend to have shorter life spans than nonsmokers --  So the skinnier people tend to be unhealthier because of smoking. This is perfect! I admit it is not a great LSAT answer, but it truly is the only one standing that has a chance and gives us a reason. We have to assume that some in the group are smokers, but this does help bridge gap better than any other answer

(D) The normal deterioration of the human immune system with age can be slowed down by a reduction in the number of calories consumed --  Similar to (B), this would make skinnier people healthier, so it is out.

(E) Diets that tend to lead to weight gain often contain not only excess fat but also unhealthful concentrations of sugar and sodium --  Same as (B) and (D), although it is far more random and out of place because this talks about diets. We are never told anything about the diets, so this is trying to force an assumption. But that assumption would lead you to conclude that skinnier is healthier, so out.

Kratosgmat · Answer

as per study 1 
for people after the age of 35

- if they maintained the weight they had at 35 years, they tended to live lesser
- if they increased the weight(by 0.5-1 pound ) they had at 35 years, they tended to live longer

as per study 1 
weight gain = lower life expectancy

Now as per option C
Smokers, who tend to be leaner than nonsmokers, tend to have shorter life spans than nonsmokers

If lean people (people who maintained the weight they had at 35 years old) were smokers then, they had shorter life despite the fact that they maintained their weight.

Fat people on the other hand (non smokers) even though they had a short lifespan because of being fat. The effect is not as deadly as smoking.

so basically smoking causes your life to end faster than weight gain can. thereby resolving paradox

AAkashdeepBansal · Answer

Study 1 - Weight gain after 35 (upto 1 pound) = live longer than constant weight
study 2 - Weight gain is associated with health problems = Live less

how C solves this paradox?

guddo · Answer

A long-term health study that followed a group of people who were age 35 in 1950 found that those whose weight increased by approximately half a kilogram or one pound per year after the age of 35 tended, on the whole, to live longer than those who maintained the weight they had at age 35. This finding seems at variance with other studies that have associated weight gain with a host of health problems that tend to lower life expectancy. 
 
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparently conflicting findings?

The first study says people who gained some weight after age 35 lived longer than people who maintained their weight. Other studies say weight gain is linked to health problems that lower life expectancy.  The best resolution  should show that the people who maintained weight may have had another risk factor that shortened their lives, unrelated to  avoiding weight gain .

(A) As people age, muscle and bone tissue tends to make up a smaller and smaller proportion of total body weight.

This does not clearly resolve the conflict. It explains body composition changes with age, but not why people who gained weight lived longer.

(B) Individuals who reduce their cholesterol levels by losing weight can thereby also reduce their risk of dying from heart attacks or strokes.

This makes the conflict harder to resolve. It supports the idea that weight loss, not weight gain, can improve life expectancy.

(C) Smokers, who tend to be leaner than nonsmokers, tend to have shorter life spans than nonsmokers.

This is correct. If smokers tend to stay leaner and also die earlier, then the group that maintained weight may have included more smokers. That would explain why the weight-gain group lived longer even though weight gain itself can still be unhealthy.

(D) The normal deterioration of the human immune system with age can be slowed down by a reduction in the number of calories consumed.

This does not help. It suggests eating less may be beneficial, which does not explain why gradual weight gain was associated with longer life.

(E) Diets that tend to lead to weight gain often contain not only excess fat but also unhealthful concentrations of sugar and sodium.

This strengthens the conflict. It gives more reason to expect weight gain to be associated with worse health, not longer life.

Answer: (C)

egmat · Answer

Hi AAkashdeepBansal,

You've nailed the two findings, so the only missing piece is  what job  a resolve-the-paradox answer has to do. It doesn't have to prove weight gain is good. It just has to give a  different reason  the leaner group in Study 1 died sooner, a reason that has nothing to do with their weight.

Where C comes in

Study 1 compares two groups:
-  Weight-gainers  (heavier)
-  Weight-maintainers  (leaner)

And it found the leaner group lived  shorter  lives. That's the surprising bit that seems to clash with "weight gain is unhealthy."

Now read C carefully:  "Smokers, who tend to be leaner than nonsmokers, tend to have shorter life spans."  Smokers cluster into the  leaner  group, the weight-maintainers. So the reason that group died earlier may not be their steady weight at all; it may be that  many of them were smokers , and smoking shortened their lives.

That's the bridge:
- Study  2  can still be right: weight gain really is unhealthy.
- Study  1 's result is explained anyway, because the leaner comparison group was  contaminated by smokers , who die early for a totally separate reason.

The apparent conflict dissolves once you see the leaner group's early deaths blamed on  smoking, not on maintaining weight .

A simpler stand-in

Map it back: smoking is the "night shift" here, the hidden trait that makes the leaner group look worse than weight alone would predict.

Answer: C

A long-term health study that followed a group of people who were age

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

A long-term health study that followed a group of people who were age

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards