Nutritionist: Many people claim that simple carbohydrates are a reason

Question

Nutritionist: Many people claim that simple carbohydrates are a reasonable caloric replacement for the fatty foods forbidden to those on low-fat diets. This is now in doubt. New studies show that, for many people, a high intake of simple carbohydrates stimulates an overproduction of insulin, a hormone that is involved in processing sugars and starches to create energy when the body requires energy, or, when energy is not required, to store the resulting by-products as fat.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the nutritionist’s statements?

(A) People on low-fat diets should avoid consumption of simple carbohydrates if they wish to maintain the energy that their bodies require.
(B) People who produce enough insulin to process their intake of simple carbohydrates should not feel compelled to adopt low-fat diets.
(C) People who consume simple carbohydrates should limit their intake of foods high in fat.
(D) People who wish to avoid gaining body fat should limit their intake of foods high in simple carbohydrates.
(E) People who do not produce an excessive amount of insulin when they consume foods high in simple carbohydrates will not lose weight if they restrict only their intake of these foods.

GmatPrime · Answer

D. People who wish to avoid gaining body fat should limit their intake of foods high in simple carbohydrates.

Or else, the excess (since  limit  is used in the sentence) simple carbohydrates will be converted to fats by the insulin.

Moubani · Answer

The passage never mentions body fat. Why is D correct then?
Also why is A incorrect?

GmatPrime · Answer

(A) People on low-fat diets should avoid consumption of simple carbohydrates if they wish to maintain the energy that their bodies require.
Okay. The author says in the question stem that simple carbs are utilized to create energy. Now, in option A, people are asked to avoid simple carbs so as to maintain (meaning 'create' or 'produce' in this context) the energy that their bodies require. Option A contradicts what the arguments states. Hence, incorrect.

(D) People who wish to avoid gaining body fat should limit their intake of foods high in simple carbohydrates.
The question stem mentions 'to store the resulting by-products as fat'. I agree it doesn't say 'body fat' but I won't ditch the option over 'fat' vs 'body fat' since the argument is talking about people and their fat would be considered body fat.

Hope it helps. Cheers!

800Dreamer · Answer

Why is C wrong? In D, what if from this type of food, energy generated is consumed and not stored as fat?

GmatPrime · Answer

Hi  nkhl.goyal

Glad you asked.

C. People who consume simple carbohydrates should limit their intake of foods high in fat.
The stimulus only talks  about people on low-fat die t. The argument is about the effects of simple carbohydrate consumption in people who are already on low-fat diet. Thus, no information is given about people who consume high amounts of fatty food. Saying so would be  generalizing beyond the scope of the argument. Hence, incorrect.

D. I think there is a typo in your statement and you wanted to ask, "what if from this type of food, energy generated  is  consumed and not stored as fat?"
As written in my previous explanation, the word 'limit' gets at precisely the same point you are getting at. Excess simple carbs are to be avoided or else, as you rightly said, the excess would be stored as fat ( excess= left after generating energy ).

Thus, answer is option D.

800Dreamer · Answer

Thanks for the great explanation. Oh! yes, it was a typo from my side. Corrected it. Thanks for pointing it out.

azoz7 · Answer

I was between D and E. I went with E. I think E is wrong for the extreme language. Is this correct reason for eliminating choice E?

GmatPrime · Answer

Hi  azoz7

The argument talks about 'gaining weight', the opposite of which would be 'not gaining weight'.
'Not gaining weight' is not the same as 'losing weight'- what option E talks about.
Hence, incorrect.

azoz7 · Answer

Gmatminion

Thanks for clarifying the reason

Posted from my mobile device

GMATNinja · Answer

Thanks  GmatMinion ! I'll add a few thoughts, just in case somebody finds it useful.

First, let's review some of the given information from the new study:

A high intake of simple carbs stimulates an  overproduction  of insulin 
 Insulin is involved in processing sugars and starches to 1) create energy when the body requires energy or 2) store by-products as fat when energy is not required.

So what will happen if you have too much insulin? Well, up to a certain point, that will just help your body create the energy it needs. However, once your body has all the energy it requires, further insulin production will only serve to increase your stored fat. This implies that a high intake of simple carbs  could  lead to an increase in your body fat. This fits with choice (D).

We know that a high-intake of simple carbs will stimulate production of insulin, and that insulin helps your body create energy when energy is needed.

What if you AVOID consumption of simple carbs, as proposed in (A)? In that case, you are eliminating a source of energy. You  might  maintain the energy that your body requires (if you are getting enough energy from other nutritional sources), but you also might NOT. By itself, removing simple carbs from your diet is not something that will ensure that you get enough energy. In fact, if you remove simple carbs from your diet, you might NOT get enough energy (if you don't compensate with other sources of energy/nutrition).

So, based on the information in the passage, avoiding consumption of simple carbohydrates is not, by itself, an adequate strategy for maintaining the energy that your body requires. (A) is out, and (D) is the correct answer.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Nutritionist: Many people claim that simple carbohydrates are a reason

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