Argument48，健身，用电脑，发展经济三者的关系，留链尽量返^0^

shadow1987UID: 2605840

TOPIC: ARGUMENT48 - The following appeared in a newspaper article published in the country of Corpora.

"Twenty years ago, one half of all citizens in Corpora met the standards for adequate physical fitness as then defined by the national advisory board on physical fitness. Today, the board says that only one quarter of all citizens are adequately fit and suggests that spending too much time using computers may be the reason. But since overall fitness levels are highest in regions of Corpora where levels of computer ownership are also highest, it is clear that using computers has not made citizens less physically fit. Instead, as shown by this year's unusually low expenditures on fitness-related products and services, the recent decline in the economy is most likely the cause, and fitness levels will improve when the economy does."
WORDS: 416
TIME: 00:30:00
DATE: 2010-8-4 11:17:49

In this argument, the author argue that the fitness levels of residents in Corpora decreased and this question will be solved when the Corpora has improves its economy. To bolster his conclusion, the author cites the study conducted by national advisory board on physical fitness which suggests that only one quarter of all citizens are adequate fit due to using computers. However, twenty years ago, there are one half of all citizens in Corpora met the standards provided by this organization. The author argues that it is not the computer but the economic condition affects the public health and he points out the facts that overall fitness levels are highest in regions of Corpora where levels of computer ownership are also highest, and moreover, the recent decline in the sales of fitness-related products and service is obvious. According to these, the author draws the conclusion above which I find dubious on several grounds.

In the first place, the study which conducted by the national advisory board on physical fitness and the fact that half of the residents in Corpora met the standards twenty years ago do not necessarily mean that the fitness level of Corpora people has decreased. Perhaps the standards provided by the organization has changed dramatically, meanwhile, the fitness level of all citizens in Corpora are stable or even have increased. In this way, the difference in numbers is caused by the organization's standards but not the decrease of people's fitness level in Corpora. Or perhaps, the board says that only one quarter of all citizens are adequately fit is the average situation around the nation, but the region of Corpora almost remains the same or even higher than the national average. Without provides enough details in this study, the author cannot simply convince me that the fitness level of Corpora people have decrease.

Secondly, the author assumes that the reason of fitness decrease does not because of the using of computers base on the fact that overall fitness level are highest in the regions of Corpora where levels of computer ownership are also highest. Yet, I find there is no sufficient evidence to substantiate the linkage between them. Perhaps, the fitness level of people from these regions also very low but the other places in Corpora are even lower, so the author could not exclude the influence of using computers. Or perhaps most of the people from these regions are rich, that is why they own the highest computer ownership in Corpora. Obviously, the rich people would place more values on their health condition, and hence they spend more time in their physical fitness, by doing so, their fitness level became the highest in Corpora. Without ruling out all the possible scenarios, the author’s assumption is under doubt.

Thirdly, even assuming that the fitness level in Corpora indeed decreased and this phenomenon has nothing to do with using computers, it is still hastily for the author to draw the conclusion that they can improve the citizens health condition by develop the economy. We should be aware of that, aside from fitness-related products and services, people have numerous alternative ways to practice like hiking, jogging, swimming and playing football or basketball. On the other hand, even if people have enough money, they might not spend on the fitness-related products and services and instead, they might invest their money to other fields.

To sum up, the author’s conclusion base on a serious of unsubstantiated assumptions which render his conclusion unconvincing as it stands. In order to provide a more convincing conclusion, firstly, the author may need to carry out more thorough investigation about the study. Secondly, the author should conduct survey about the relation between using computers and keeping healthy. Finally, he should demonstrate the linkage between improving fitness level and economic development.