People who use the artificial sweetener aspartame are better off consu

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The following appeared in the health section of a magazine on trends and lifestyles:
“People who use the artificial sweetener aspartame are better off consuming sugar, since aspartame can actually contribute to weight gain rather than weight loss. For example, high levels of aspartame have been shown to trigger a craving for food by depleting the brain of a chemical that registers satiety, or the sense of being full. Furthermore, studies suggest that sugars, if consumed after at least 45 minutes of continuous exercise, actually enhance the body’s ability to burn fat. Consequently, those who drink aspartame-sweetened juices after exercise will also lose this calorie-burning benefit. Thus, it appears that people consuming aspartame rather than sugar are unlikely to achieve their dietary goals.”
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.


The argument claims that people consuming aspartame rather than sugar are unlikely to achieve their dietary goals. Stated in this way, the argument manipulates and conveys a distorted view of the solution. It also reveals examples of poor reasoning, leap of faith and ill defined-terminology. The conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. Hence this argument is weak and has several flaws.

First, the argument conveniently assumes that the trigger of craving will affect all the consumers of aspartame in the same way. This statement is a stretch because it clearly does not take into account the different metabolism rates of different people, which can ultimately affect the calorie count. For example, what if there are a significant number of people who in spite of having these cravings are able to successfully ward them off, thanks to their will power or motivation. Clearly, the author has taken a significant jump as he has not considered these facts. The argument could have been much clearer if it explicitly stated the numbers and facts associated related to the above stated reasoning. In that case, the author would have certainly made a fair point.

Second, the author claims that, if aspartame is consumed after at least 45 minutes of continuous exercise, it actually enhances the body’s ability to burn fat. This is again a very weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not consider any side effects of the sugar over consuming aspartame. To illustrate, what if the makers of sugar used certain components, ones which are not in aspartame, which could actually hamper the health of the sugar consumers. Although it is possible that sugar enhances the body’s ability to burn fact, but what if this again was actually the effects of a detriment caused by the sugar. So, people might think that they are choosing the healthier lifestyle while consuming sugar, but on the contrary it is causing serious damages that are not visible on the surface. If the argument were to differentiate the ill effects of both sugar and aspartame, we would have been in a better position to accept the author’s conclusion.

Finally, what if the consumers of aspartame were to consume other food that actually calorie laded foods that caused the weight gain. It is quite possible that the rate of gain of those calories infused foods overtook the calorie burning rate of aspartame. Additionally, even if we agree to the fact that aspartame does add calories, what if they were the good calories and actually aided in better functioning of the body. In today’s medically advanced world, it is not a very wise idea to state calories as being evil. Without convincing answers to these questions, one is left with rather the impression that the claim is more of a wishful thinking rather than substantive evidence.

In conclusion, the argument is flawed for the above-mentioned reasons and it is therefore unconvincing. It would be considerably strengthened if the author clearly mentioned all the relevant facts.