Residents of Milatia are known for their longevity. Nutritionists main

Question

Residents of Milatia are known for their longevity. Nutritionists maintain that the Milatians can attribute their increased lifespans to their diets. In addition to consuming a diet full of leafy greens, they also have a low intake of saturated fats, which have been implicated in heart disease and atherosclerosis. Therefore, if one wants to have increased longevity, he or she should follow a Milatia based diet.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. Other aspects of the Militians’ lifestyle do not affect the observed trend of longevity in Milatia.

B. Adopting another people’s eating habits will, in of itself, not confer the same advantages, unless a person incorporates exercise into his or her life.

C. The Milatian lifespan has a relatively uniform distribution, with very few dying young from natural causes.

D. Milatians are the only people in whom there is a perceived link between diet and longevity.

E. All Milatians are known to have a lifespans that are above average.

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Rishikesh113 · Answer

The correct option is A.
If other lifestyle/genetic factors are responsible for their longevity rather than just their diet, then adopting only their diet will not guarantee increased longevity for someone else

counterclash1 · Answer

Correct Answer: A

GIVEN:
- Premise 1: Milatians have high longevity.
- Premise 2: Nutritionists attribute this longevity to their diet.
- Conclusion: Adopting a Milatian diet will increase longevity for others.

PRE-THINKING:
- Author assumes diet is the primary factor driving longevity.
- Required Assumption: No alternate lifestyle factors (e.g., exercise, stress) cause this longevity.

OPTIONS EVALUATION:
Choice (A) = Correct (Eliminates alternate lifestyle causes; negation breaks argument)
Choice (B) = Incorrect (Irrelevant extra requirement regarding exercise)
Choice (C) = Incorrect (Lifespan distribution/variance is out of scope)
Choice (D) = Incorrect (Extreme word "only"; uniqueness is unnecessary)
Choice (E) = Incorrect (Extreme word "All"; 100% threshold is unnecessary)

Conclusion: Answer Choice (A).

Vivek1707 · Answer

A. Yup, If other lifestyle factors aren't responsible for their longevity, then the diet is the most plausible explanation. That's the missing link the argument needs.
B. Nope, this brings exercise into the discussion, but the argument never claims that diet alone is insufficient.
C. The exact distribution of lifespans doesn't matter. The argument only needs Milatians to have unusually long lifespans. Eliminate 
D. Whether other populations show a diet-longevity link is irrelevant to the argument. Eliminate
E. The argument doesn't need every Milatian to live above average. It only needs the population's longevity to be unusually high. Eliminate

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation:

The argument assumes that following a Milatian diet will lead to an increased lifespan. The correct answer will call this link into question by citing another factor, besides food, that could account for Militians' longevity.

(A) is the answer because the 'other aspects' provide an alternative cause to diet that could account for increased lifespan (clean air, exercise, etc. could be some of these factors).

(B) could function as an answer choice that calls into question or weakens the argument. However, (B) is not an assumption. One way to determine if the answer choice is an assumption the argument rests on is to negate the assumption. To negate an assumption is to say the opposite of the answer choice: "Other aspects of the Militians' lifestyle affect the observed trend." If the negation weakens the argument, then that is the answer we are looking for. However, an answer that simply weakens the argument, as (B) does, is not an assumption of the argument itself.

If we negate (C), "does not] have a uniform� it doesn't weaken the argument. A Milatian diet is still responsible for longevity, just not for everyone.

The paragraph is not concerned with other people. (D) is out.

The paragraph doesn't assume that all Milatians have a long lifespan. (E) is therefore out.

Residents of Milatia are known for their longevity. Nutritionists main

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Residents of Milatia are known for their longevity. Nutritionists main

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