A study published in the British Medical Journal showed that

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Comparison + Verb Forms + Idioms

• "more" and "less" must have a logical sequence with "than"; in a comparison, "more/less...than" is the idiomatic construction.
• A comparison must always be made between similar things.
• In modifying a noun, the past participle (“ate” in this sentence) conveys that the noun took an action that concluded in the past.
• The present participle verb form ("verb+ing" – “eating in this sentence)) is used to modify nouns, used (preceded by comma) to express cause-effect relationships, and used to refer to ongoing events in any time frame.

A: This answer choice incorrectly compares how likely "women who ate nuts more than five times a week" were to suffer from coronary heart disease to "those who ate no nuts at all" rather than with how likely "those who ate no nuts at all" were to suffer from coronary heart disease; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar things. Further, Option A incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "less...as"; please remember, "more" and "less" must have a logical sequence with "than"; in a comparison, "more/less...than" is the idiomatic construction.

B: This answer choice incorrectly compares how likely "women who ate nuts more than five times a week" were to suffer from coronary heart disease to "women who ate no nuts at all" rather than with how likely "women who ate no nuts at all" were to suffer from coronary heart disease; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar things. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "less...as"; please remember, "more" and "less" must have a logical sequence with "than"; in a comparison, "more/less...than" is the idiomatic construction.

C: This answer choice incorrectly compares how likely "women who ate nuts more than five times a week" were to suffer from coronary heart disease to "those eating no nuts at all" rather than with how likely "those eating no nuts at all" were to suffer from coronary heart disease; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar things. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the present participle "eating" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, in modifying a noun, the past participle conveys that the noun took an action that concluded in the past, and the present participle is used to refer to an ongoing action in any time frame. Additionally, Option C incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "less...as"; please remember, "more" and "less" must have a logical sequence with "than"; in a comparison, "more/less...than" is the idiomatic construction.

D: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly compares how likely "women who ate nuts more than five times a week" were to suffer from coronary heart disease to "women eating no nuts at all" rather than with how likely "women eating no nuts at all" were to suffer from coronary heart disease; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar things. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the present participle "eating" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, in modifying a noun, the past participle conveys that the noun took an action that concluded in the past, and the present participle is used to refer to an ongoing action in any time frame.

E: Correct. This answer choice correctly compares how likely "women who ate nuts more than five times a week" were to suffer from coronary heart disease with how likely "those who ate no nuts at all" were to suffer from coronary heart disease. Further, Option E correctly modifies "those" with the past participle phrase "who ate" to refer to an action that "those" took that concluded in the past. Additionally, Option E correctly uses the idiomatic construction "less...than".

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team