PT156 S2 Q10 ExplanationMedical researcher: Studies in North America

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Cheats Paradox2% picked this

   The average level of fat consumption by the French has been falling

   This says French fat consumption has been falling for decades. But the stimulus tells us that currently French and North American fat consumption are equal — so falling French levels would mean fat consumption used to be even higher. If anything, that should mean the French should now have more heart disease as the high-fat past catches up. This makes the puzzle worse, not better.

   2%
2. B

   No Impact7% picked this

   Other factors of diet besides high consumption of fat have not been similarly linked with

   Whether other diet factors are similarly linked to heart disease does not explain why the French and North Americans differ. If high fat is the relevant factor for both populations, and both eat the same amount of fat, this answer leaves the original puzzle untouched.

   7%
3. C

   Correct85% picked this

   Heart disease takes years to develop and the average level of fat consumption in France increased to North American levels

   Why this is right

   This is the resolution. Heart disease is described as taking years to develop. If the French only recently raised their fat consumption to North American levels, then their current heart disease rates reflect the years before they were eating like North Americans. North American heart disease rates already reflect a long history of high fat intake. Both facts hold simultaneously: the relationship between fat and heart disease is real, the French currently eat as much fat, and yet the French heart disease rate is still low because the disease has not had time to catch up. Paradox resolved.

   Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   85%
4. D

   No Impact3% picked this

   Certain diseases other than heart disease have also been linked to average fat consumption, and the French have a higher incidence of

   Higher rates of other diseases among the French does not explain the heart disease gap. If anything, this just gives us another mystery — but it does not resolve why the heart disease numbers diverge between the two populations.

   3%
5. E

   Cheats Paradox3% picked this

   Cigarette smoking significantly increases the risk of heart disease and France has a higher percentage of cigarette smokers in its

   If smoking significantly increases heart disease risk and France has more smokers, then the French should have more heart disease, not less. This deepens the puzzle: the French face the same fat-related risk plus a higher smoking risk, yet have half the rate of heart disease. We need to explain that gap, and this answer makes it worse.

   3%