Health Advocate's Argument: The implementation of mandatory calorie counts on all restaurant menus is widely seen as an effective measure to combat obesity. Studies have shown that when calorie information is readily available, people choose healthier options. Therefore, a health official proposes that all restaurants should be required to display calorie counts, aiming to reduce the national obesity rate within 10 years.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the advisability of implementing the proposal?
Assumption: People are obese because they eat at these restaurants or anything on similar lines.
(A) Many restaurants that voluntarily provide calorie counts have seen a decrease in customers, indicating potential revenue losses for businesses.
Restaurants of this kind may come up with other innovative ideas or advertisements, as they usually do, to increase their business and thrive. Hence, health advocate's argument is not questioned and still very much valid.
(B) Studies demonstrating the effectiveness of calorie counts have primarily focused on fast-food restaurants, which only represent a portion of the restaurant industry.
If we implement the plan then obesity resulting from these fast-food restaurants would still reduce compared to the current obesity level. Therefore the plan would still work and B does not weaken the argument.
(C) Restaurants that have already implemented calorie counts report difficulties in accurately estimating the calorie content for every dish, leading to frequent revisions.
Options C and E are both incorrect for the same reason. Both target difficulty while counting the number of calories, which is not the main concern of the author.
(D) Foods that are high in calories are often the most affordable options, making them more appealing despite calorie count displays.
If this shred of information is taken to be true, the chances, of the implemented plan succeeding, reduce. So, we can conclude that D questions the given argument.
CORRECT
(E) Many foods that do not have high-calorie counts are still unhealthy because of high salt or sugar content, which is not necessarily reflected in calorie counts alone.
Options C and E are both incorrect for the same reason. Both target difficulty while counting the number of calories, which is not the main concern of the author.