In the past 20 year, there has been a significant increase

Question

In the past 20 years, there has a been a significant increase in the consumption of specialty dark chocolate products. During this same time period, there has been an increasing number of professional articles regarding the health benefits of consuming dark chocolate. Therefore, the increase in specialty dark chocolate consumption must have been caused by consumers’ awareness of the health benefits of dark chocolate.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the explanation for the increase in consumption

A) Milk Chocolate has been proven to have health benefits equal to that of dark chocolate
B) In the past 20 years, professionals have increasingly recommended eating specialty dark chocolates as a way to curb hunger throughout the day
C) On average, people today consume fifty percent more specialty dark chocolates than they did 20 years ago.
D) Dark Chocolate has experienced a drastic increase in price over the past 20 years when compared to other types of chocolate
E) Most people prefer the taste of milk chocolate over that of dark chocolate

akashb106 · Accepted Answer

Hey, I think the problem with your reasoning is that you are assuming that Curb hunger=Health benefits. We have no such information in the passage that states explicitly that to curb hunger, it is part of the whole set of health benefits. There could be several other reasons why professionals are recommended eating dark chocs. For example, To work harder, to pay more attention at work, or to be satisfied with the work they are doing. So this is just a trick so that we assume that a person is told to curb hunger only because he/she is seeking health benefits. Hopefully with this outlook, it gets clear why B is weakening the argument. :-D

ramannanda9 · Answer

B for me.

Not entirely sure about the line of reasoning, but correct me if i have gone astray.

Gist: The argument says that there are apparent health benefits of consuming dark chocolate and because consumers are aware of this they are consuming more dark chocolate.

Pre-Thinking : The weakening answer would provide us with any alternate reason for the increase of consumption of dark chocolate.

Now answer choice B says that professionals recommend chocolate to  curb hunger  and  not because it has health benefits . Therefore, the choice weakens the argument by presenting an alternate reason on why the consumption of dark chocolate has increased.

mohnish104 · Answer

Ramananda: I don't understand isn't curbing hunger part of the health benefits. If anything, B strengthens the argument.

Consider this case, people consumed more apples because of professional articles, which talked about the benefits. The sale of apples thus increased. Now if an answer says a professional but not a professional article recommended the benefits of apple, how is it different? I mean sure if u talk abt the physical presence. Its like an article in a medical journal written by a doctor and the doctor himself aren't the same.

gwu · Answer

B for me.

the argument says that the increase is as a result of consumer awareness of health benefits.
b: states and alternative reason for this increase: Dark chocolate is recommended, in the last 20 years, as a substitute for a daytime meal - nothing to do with health benefit

bm729 · Answer

Not really convinced by B, curbing hunger could mean eating less food, ergo taking in less calories. So there is definitely some health benefit discussed here which is responsible for higher consumption of dark chocolates

umg · Answer

Eating Less Food  does not mean  taking in less calories.
Here is the difference:
1. You may eat small amount of fat once and fulfill the full-day calorific requirement of your body while feeling hungry at the same time. -> No Excess Calories
2. You may eat fat throughout the day whenever you feel hungry, and exceed the full-day calorific requirement of your body. -> Excess Calories

See the difference above. If you didn't, consider this..
Conclusion says that consumption rose because of  health benefits  and (D) says that consumption rose because people wanted to  curb hunger .

We eat food to curb hunger and we eat  Healthy  food for health benefits. Therefore, essentially (D) is saying that people are eating specialty dark chocolate as food.

daboo343 · Answer

Option B changes the cause for the same effect and hence weaken the conclusion.

brs1cob · Answer

Option B is correct .

we need to say that health benefit alone is not the reason for increase in the consumption of dark chocolates.

so option B gives an alternate reason for increase in the consumption of dark chocolates, which could be used to curb hunger.

chesstitans · Answer

in gmat, most of time, when encountering assumption, or strengthen, or weaken questions, ones do not need to read the question stem because these kinds of questions already imply the target to attack. That is, the conclusion and the main premise. 
Rarely, in too complex arguments, or mixing-type question, the question stem will be helpful to find the answer.

arvind910619 · Answer

Option B gives us different reason fro the increase in consumption of dark chocolates,instead of benefits of eating chocolates people eat to satisfy their hunger . 
In the past 20 years, professionals have increasingly recommended eating specialty dark chocolates as a way to curb hunger throughout the day

plasticplastic · Answer

In the past 20 years, there has a been a significant increase in the consumption of specialty dark chocolate products. During this same time period, there has been an increasing number of professional articles regarding the health benefits of consuming dark chocolate. Therefore, the increase in specialty dark chocolate consumption must have been caused by consumers’ awareness of the health benefits of dark chocolate.

The conclusion of the argument is that the increase in consumption was because of increased awareness from the publication of more articles that there are health benefits associated with consumption.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the explanation for the increase in consumption

A) Milk Chocolate has been proven to have health benefits equal to that of dark chocolate -  we don't need to know anything about milk chocolate for this argument so this is irrelevant 
B) In the past 20 years, professionals have increasingly recommended eating specialty dark chocolates as a way to curb hunger throughout the day  - could it be that people are consuming more because the dark chocolate has the ability to curb hunger and not because of the health benefits publicised by the professional articles? Keep this one for now. 
C) On average, people today consume fifty percent more specialty dark chocolates than they did 20 years ago.  - we don't need to know the quantity consumed or the increase in consumption so this is irrelevant 
D) Dark Chocolate has experienced a drastic increase in price over the past 20 years when compared to other types of chocolate  - we don't need to know what changes in price there has been so this is irrelevant 
E) Most people prefer the taste of milk chocolate over that of dark chocolate  - again we don't need to know what people think about milk chocolate so this is irrelevant

B is the only viable answer.

hientranzx · Answer

In the past 20 years, there has a been a significant increase in the consumption of specialty dark chocolate products. During this same time period, there has been an increasing number of professional articles regarding the health benefits of consuming dark chocolate. Therefore, the increase in specialty dark chocolate consumption must have been caused by consumers’ awareness of the health benefits of dark chocolate.

Conclusion:   consumers’ awareness of the health benefits --> the increase in consumption

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the explanation for the increase in consumption

A)  Milk Chocolate  has been proven to have health benefits equal to that of dark chocolate
Irrelevant

B) In the past 20 years, professionals have increasingly recommended eating specialty dark chocolates as a way to curb hunger throughout the day
 Correct answer. 
People consume more dark chocolate because of "curb hunger'", not because of "consumers’ awareness of the health benefits"

C) On average, people today consume fifty percent more specialty dark chocolates than they did  20 years ago .
Irrelevant

D) Dark Chocolate has experienced a drastic increase in  price  over the past 20 years when compared to other types of chocolate
Irrelevant

E) Most people prefer the  taste of milk chocolate  over that of dark chocolate
Irrelevant

A. · Answer

In Order to weaken a cause -> effect relationship
Consumer Awareness Health Benefits of consuming Dark Chocolate (X) -> Increased consumption of Dark choc. (Y)

To weaken this one has to prove that:
1. Increased consumption of dark choc is due to some other reason z(here in Option B is due to hunger...)
2. Y causes X
3. No X still Y exits
4. Y occurred prior X

1 framework is satisfied by Option B

Ilanchezhiyan · Answer

B for me as well
Cause : Professional articles- on health benefits 
Effect: INcrease in intake of Dark choc.
 OptionB gives a different cause: Satiate Hunger- take dark chocolate; 
Therefore refutes the cause given in paragraph.

egmat · Answer

The argument presents a  classic causal claim :

Two things happened over 20 years: 
1. Dark chocolate consumption increased
2. Articles about dark chocolate health benefits increased

Author's Conclusion:  The health benefits awareness  caused  the consumption increase.

The Question:  What  weakens  this explanation?

---

The Key Principle: 
To weaken a " X caused Y " argument, an effective approach is to show " Actually, Z caused Y " - an  alternative cause .

---

Why (B) is Correct: 
Option B states that professionals recommended dark chocolate  to curb hunger .

This provides a  completely different reason  for the consumption increase. If people are eating more dark chocolate because it helps control hunger (not because they read about general health benefits), then the author's explanation falls apart.

Note that  "curbing hunger" is a  specific practical use , which is different from "general health benefits awareness." People might be following hunger-control advice without ever reading those health articles.

Answer: B

---

Why Other Options Fail:

(A) Milk chocolate has equal health benefits 
 Trap:  This tells us nothing about  why dark chocolate  consumption specifically increased. Even if milk chocolate is equally healthy, people could still have increased dark chocolate consumption due to health awareness.

(C) People consume 50% more dark chocolate today 
 Common mistake:  This simply  restates the premise . We already know consumption increased = this doesn't explain or challenge the  cause .

(D) Dark chocolate price increased drastically 
This actually  strengthens  the argument slightly! If people are consuming more  despite  higher prices, they must have strong motivation (like health concerns).

(E) People prefer milk chocolate taste 
Preference doesn't equal behavior. People can prefer milk chocolate's taste but still choose dark chocolate for health reasons.

---

Takeaway: 
For  weaken questions involving causal claims , always ask: " Is there another explanation for the effect? " An alternative cause directly undermines the original causal claim.

In the past 20 year, there has been a significant increase

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

In the past 20 year, there has been a significant increase

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards