Public health officials have long recommended that people consume low-fat diets to decrease the risk of heart disease. Extensive nutritional studies have shown that fats are more calorie-dense than carbohydrates or proteins. If, as many nutritionists believe, calories are the primary contributor to weight gain and thus to heart disease , then by encouraging a low-fat diet, public health campaigns can effectively reduce the incidence of heart disease . However, recent research suggests that not all fats are harmful and that some, like those found in nuts and fish, are actually beneficial for heart health. In the argument above, the two portions in bold play which of the following roles? A. The first is a longstanding universal theory in nutritional science; the second is a conclusion universally endorsed based on this theory, which the argument rejects B. The first is the conclusion that the argument seeks to establish; the second is a premise that is used to support this conclusion. C. The first is a belief used to support a public health recommendation; the second is a conclusion based on that belief but subsequently challenged in the passage. D. The first is a belief held by many nutritionists that the argument aims to refute; the second is a strategy based on this belief that the argument suggests is flawed. E. The first is a claim that the argument questions; the second is the position that the argument advocates.

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FrozenDragon

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14 Jul 2026, 00:09

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I don’t quite agree with the solution. the argument challenges callories lead to fats lead to heart disease but it is countered in the argument that not all fats are bad it does not challenge the fact that public health campaigns can effectively reduce the incidence of heart disease

Campaign's plan: Tell people to eat less fat to stop heart disease.
Author's challenge: some fats (like fish and nuts) actually help your heart

The author is not against public health campaigns in general. Instead, the author is pointing out that telling people to avoid all fats is a flawed strategy, because it might cause people to stop eating the good, healthy fats too.

On the GMAT, a true challenger doesn't have to attack the entire argument, it can just weaken one specific aspect of the conclusion. Here, the author is specifically challenging the claim that a low-fat diet will fix the problem.

I hope this helps.

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12 Sep 2026, 02:05

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The only point that I have is 'Are public health officials nutritionists?'
Why?
Because the paragraph says that public officials recommend low fat food to reduce the risk. While nutritionists believe that calories are primary contributors to heart diseases.
The correct answer states that BF1 is a belief that forms the basis for public health recommendation. But the paragraph nowhere says that public health officials, the recommenders as per option C, believe in BF1. Nor does it say that officials are nutritionists. Hence I did not make that jump.

That was the main reason why I selected A. But even that can be countered saying even if 'many' nutritionists believe something, it cannot be termed as universal truth.

GMATNinja MartyMurray if you guys can pitch in here, that would help

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Is this true? Should we not pick an answer that uses the word "assumption"?

Sorry about the wait. The answer I got from the author of the question is that it would technically be acceptable to call this "assumption" because the first bolded statement, calories are the primary contributor to weight gain and thus to heart disease, is explicitly stated and forms the basis of the logical structure for claims that follow. So, while traditionally, assumptions are implicit, in this context, it's functioning as a foundational assumption/belief that the argument relies on

However, it is indeed better to rename it from assumption to something else so it does not confuse anyone - good point!

I have changed it to be "belief"