Calories consumed in excess of those with which the body needs to be

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The paradox in this problem is that alcohol drinkers who surpass the threshold for calorie intake should gain weight, but they do not. Most people, upon reading the stimulus, prephrase an answer involving exercise or some other way to work off the expected weight gain. Unfortunately, a perfect match to this prephrase does not appear, and instead students are faced with a tricky answer that preys upon this general idea while at the same time it fails to meet the circumstances in the stimulus.

Answer choice (A): Read closely! The stimulus specifies that people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day thereby exceed the necessary caloric intake. This answer, which discusses individuals who avoid exceeding the caloric intake necessary, therefore addresses a different group of people from that in the stimulus. Since information about a different group of people does not explain the situation, this answer is incorrect.

This answer is attractive because it uses the idea of getting rid of or avoiding calories, but it violates one of the precepts of the stimulus. Remember, you must look very closely at the circumstances in the stimulus and make sure that the answer you select matches those circumstances.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer. If the excess calories are dissipated as heat, then there would be no weight gain. Hence, alcohol drinkers can consume excess calories and still not gain weight.

Some students object to this answer because the situation seems unrealistic. Can heat dissipation actually work off dozens if not hundreds of calories? According to the question stem, yes. Remember, the question stem tells you that each answer choice should be taken as true. Since this answer choice clearly states that the excess calories tend to be dissipated, you must accept that as true and then analyze what effect that would have.

Answer choice (C): The stimulus discusses “people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day and thereby exceed the caloric intake necessary.” This answer choice addresses a different group of people than those discussed in the stimulus.

Answer choice (D): The first flaw in this answer is that it simply states that individuals consuming alcohol do not gain weight but it offers no explanation for why these people have no weight gain. The second flaw in the problem is that it addresses the wrong group of people. The stimulus discusses people who drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day; this answer addresses people who drink more than three alcoholic beverages a day.

Answer choice (E): Again, this answer discusses a different group of people than those in the stimulus. The stimulus discusses people who exceed the necessary caloric intake; this answer addresses people who do not meet the necessary caloric intake.