According to a recent study, 26 percent of women and 19 percent of men

I believe (D) is the correct answer here.

But, that required a bit of behind the back assumptions that are generally not accepted on the GMAT. By "today", I am assuming that the author is talking about 2022. So, data from '90s is being compared with today's data.

The argument here tries to attribute the increase in obesity today to a drop in dieters from 1990 to today. But, what if the dieting is not the "cause" of obesity for this long period?

(D) hits right on this flaw. If the effects of dieting do not last longer than 3-5 years, then the cause of obesity could not be the decrease in dieters from 1990 to today. Thus, this weakens our belief into the conclusion. Correct choice.
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This is a classic correlation-causation question

Premise: According to a recent study, 26 percent of women and 19 percent of men in the United States said they were on a diet, down from 35 percent of women and 26 percent of men in 1990.
Conclusion: As a result, obesity in the United States has increased from 15.6 percent in 1995 to 23.9 percent today.

According to this argument, Because the percentage of men and women in the United States on a diet has decreased, the rate of obesity in the United States has increased.
In arriving at this conclusion the author has made several assumptions such as there are no alternate causes for the increase in obesity, the people haven't started doing something else keep their weight in check, etc.

Which of the following statements would be the most helpful in evaluating the validity of this conclusion?


A. Although the percent of people who are dieting has decreased, 60 percent of U.S. adults say they would like to lose 20 pounds.
The argument is not about what the people want, it is about the increase in the rate of obesity.

B. It is estimated that 60 percent of the adult population in the United States is overweight.
This answer choice doesn't affect the strength of the argument. We already know that the rate of obesity has increased.

C. Weight Watchers is among the most popular diets in the United States.
This answer choice doesn't affect the strength of the argument. We already know that the percentage of people on a diet has decreased. Knowing what the most popular diet is doesn't help us evaluate the argument.

D. Diets have only a 5.2 percent success rate; within three to five years, almost all dieters are back up to original body weight.
This answer choice does have an affect on the strength of the argument. This answer choice shows that being on a diet has a very low success rate, which implies that reduction in the percentage of people on a diet wasn't the factor that caused an increase in the rate of obesity.

E. In 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General declared an obesity epidemic, stating that roughly 300,000 deaths a year can be attributed to obesity.
This answer choice is incorrect for the same reason as (B)

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