The following appeared in the health section of a magazine on trends and lifestyles:“People who use the artificial sweetener aspartame are better off consuming sugar, since aspartame can actually contribute to weight gain rather than weight loss. For ex

The writer of the article in health section of a magazine on trends and lifestyle avers that consuming artificial sweetener aspartame rather than sugar is unlikely to help people to achieve their dietary goals as aspartame contributes to weight gain rather than weight loss.He substantiates this claim by citing studies which suggest that sugar when consumed after 45 minutes of continuous exercise helps to burn fat more easily.At first glance, the argument appears to be fairly convincing and coherent. However, upon closer examination, several questionable assumptions, dubious facts and unsubstantiated reasoning renders the argument wholly unpersuasive.

To begin with, the writer mentions about the property of the aspartame drug - if high levels then it triggers a sense of craving for food. This property he terms as dangerous one because this would lead to the opposite effect of the one which is intended that is of weight gain.But, he gives a vague idea and not a clear one of exactly what level of the drug would actually cause the effect to reverse.Hence, to make this reasoning count a proper clear picture backed up with data evidence needs to be provided.

Additionally, this property of the aspartame drug - high levels in the body cause craving for food, has not been backed up with any reliable source or evidence. The writer just mentions that this drug if found in high levels in the body cause weight gain effect.Under what circumstances or factors does the high levels of the drug cause the opposite effect.A proper insight regarding this statement from the writer's side is needed.

Furthermore, the writer cites about some studies which suggest that sugars if consumed after 45 minutes of daily exercise would help burn the calories faster.From this finding he tries to infer about the effects one would have if one consumes aspartame rather than sugar.According to the writer, the aspartame would again show an opposing effect and thus not help the person achieve his dietary goal.But, this inference goes too far fetched from the writer's end.Hence, cannot just conclude randomly.Many factors are involved while carrying out the studies and experiments.Till the studies are not conducted for the aspartame drug in the same way as the sugars , one cannot just draw conclusion from it randomly.Also, the writer needs to mention all the factors kept in mind while carrying out the studies and then present the analysis to us.

In a nutshell, the argument as stated by the writer about the aspartame drug contributing to weight gain is not compelling enough.If the writer wants to convince his readers regarding the same, he should mention more details about the studies he cited, give clear numbers on what level the drug will have the opposite effect and also provide the source on the basis of which he says that high levels of drug in the body causes weight gain effect.