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Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
11 Aug 2017, 20:43
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“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.”
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The argument states that sugar provides a greater health benefit than aspartame. Specifically, the argument claims that aspartame can contribute to weight gain, instead of the weight loss that many expect to experience upon choosing this alternative to sugar. The argument’s primary evidence however is ambiguous and unsupported, leading to a distorted comparison and consequently an unconvincing argument.
Firstly , the argument fails to define “high levels of aspartame”, and thus the reader cannot know if high levels are those that are readily achieved through ingestion of normal servings of aspartame-based food, or if high levels are at or above the lethal dose. If the author were to state a specific grammage, followed by a readily known food that contains this amount of aspartame, the reader would be able to more adequately understand the danger of high levels of aspartame. Additionally, it would benefit the argument if the author also provided context on how much of a craving this amount of aspartame triggered. If such a trigger was negligible, resulting in the person ingesting only a couple more calories than usual, than the resulting effect would be nulled.
Secondly, the argument fails to state how much sugar one needs to intake to enhance the body’s ability to burn fat, as well as the resulting increase. If one would need to ingest only 5g of sugar before the positive effect became detrimental, than this apparent benefit of sugar would be fairly negligible. Likewise, if the incremental ability to burn fat was also minor, the argument would be weak. To create a stronger argument, the author should provide examples and clear measurements.
Thirdly, the argument does not validate its claims through proper sourcing. In one such example, the author simply claims that high levels of aspartame “have been shown”. In another such example, the author simply states that “studies suggest”. Without understanding whether these studies come from legitimate academic journals, the validity of the information is unfound. It would greatly benefit the argument to elaborate on where the information was gathered, and the sample size of the study.
Fourthly, the argument claims that, if a person consumes aspartame rather than sugar, they are unlikely to achieve their dietary goals. This definition of dietary goals assumes that all people making this substitute are looking to lose weight, however many people’s dietary goals may be to gain weight (such as in the case of undernutrition or if the person is undergoing a treatment such as chemotherapy). It would improve the argument if the author were to state that the people who consume aspartame rather than sugar would be unlikely to lose weight.
In conclusion, the argument is flawed primarily due to a lack of specificity and unsupported examples. Such ambiguity could be reduced through providing a more thorough comparison to sugar and aspartame across the same categories, and referencing legitimate sources to support the overall comparison.
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The argument states that sugar provides a greater health benefit than aspartame. Specifically, the argument claims that aspartame can contribute to weight gain, instead of the weight loss that many expect to experience upon choosing this alternative to sugar. The argument’s primary evidence however is ambiguous and unsupported, leading to a distorted comparison and consequently an unconvincing argument.
Firstly , the argument fails to define “high levels of aspartame”, and thus the reader cannot know if high levels are those that are readily achieved through ingestion of normal servings of aspartame-based food, or if high levels are at or above the lethal dose. If the author were to state a specific grammage, followed by a readily known food that contains this amount of aspartame, the reader would be able to more adequately understand the danger of high levels of aspartame. Additionally, it would benefit the argument if the author also provided context on how much of a craving this amount of aspartame triggered. If such a trigger was negligible, resulting in the person ingesting only a couple more calories than usual, than the resulting effect would be nulled.
Secondly, the argument fails to state how much sugar one needs to intake to enhance the body’s ability to burn fat, as well as the resulting increase. If one would need to ingest only 5g of sugar before the positive effect became detrimental, than this apparent benefit of sugar would be fairly negligible. Likewise, if the incremental ability to burn fat was also minor, the argument would be weak. To create a stronger argument, the author should provide examples and clear measurements.
Thirdly, the argument does not validate its claims through proper sourcing. In one such example, the author simply claims that high levels of aspartame “have been shown”. In another such example, the author simply states that “studies suggest”. Without understanding whether these studies come from legitimate academic journals, the validity of the information is unfound. It would greatly benefit the argument to elaborate on where the information was gathered, and the sample size of the study.
Fourthly, the argument claims that, if a person consumes aspartame rather than sugar, they are unlikely to achieve their dietary goals. This definition of dietary goals assumes that all people making this substitute are looking to lose weight, however many people’s dietary goals may be to gain weight (such as in the case of undernutrition or if the person is undergoing a treatment such as chemotherapy). It would improve the argument if the author were to state that the people who consume aspartame rather than sugar would be unlikely to lose weight.
In conclusion, the argument is flawed primarily due to a lack of specificity and unsupported examples. Such ambiguity could be reduced through providing a more thorough comparison to sugar and aspartame across the same categories, and referencing legitimate sources to support the overall comparison.
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