LSAT 33, Logical Reasoning II, Q24, LSATHacks

LR Question 24 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: Dietician: “The French Paradox” refers to the unusual…

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken 

CONCLUSION: North Americans should drink more red wine if they want to be healthy yet still eat fatty foods.

REASONING: The French eat more fat and have less heart disease. They also drink more red wine.

ANALYSIS: This argument just shows a correlation. It can’t prove that red wine causes the decrease in heart disease. It can’t even prove that a high fat diet causes an increase in heart disease. Maybe Americans should eat more fat and drink more wine. 

The argument also make the mistake of switching from evidence about a decrease in heart disease to making a conclusion about health in general. We don’t have evidence about how healthy the French are, overall. The correct answer shows that red wine can cause other health problems. 

___________

1. It’s to be expected that men and women might have a different rate of heart disease. This is true in most populations.
2. CORRECT. This shows a downside that could occur from drinking red wine. Since the conclusion was about health in general then this weakens the argument. Red wine can harm health, even if it reduces the risk of heart disease. 
3. This doesn’t matter. No population is identical. But on average the French do eat more fat and drink more wine.
4. That’s nice. But it doesn’t affect the possibility that red wine might also help. There is always more than one way to solve a problem.
5. This doesn’t actually tell us much. Those regions could have some other variable that accounts for low rates of heart disease. Maybe they would have even lower rates of heart disease if they drank red wine.