Argument145 [OB小组]_第16次作业_打鼾与长胖

ldongxpUID: 2311083

TOPIC: ARGUMENT145 - A new study collected data that shows that people who snore are more likely to gain weight than are people who do not snore. It is well known that many people who snore also stop breathing frequently during the night for a few seconds, a condition called sleep apnea. The interruption of breathing wakes the person-often so briefly that the waking goes unnoticed-and can leave the person too tired during the day to exercise. Anyone who snores, therefore, should try to eat less than the average person and to exercise more.
WORDS: 414          TIME: 00:30:00          DATE: 2007-7-28
F341
In this argument, the author concludes that the people who snore should try to eat less than normal person and to exercise more. To support this conclusion, the author points out that many people who snore also stop breathing at night. The author also notes that the interruption of breathing wakes the person causing that they are too tired to exercise during the day. However, this argument suffers from several critical flaws and is therefore unconvincing as it stands.
  Statistic study
First of all, the author unfairly assumes that all people who snore also stop breathing during the night. The fact that many people who snore also stop breathing during the night does not indicate that all people who snore do so. The author fails to provide evidence to substantiate this assumption and it is entirely possible that only small portion, for example, 10 percents of those who snore also stop breathing at night. If this is true, the author cannot make a sound conclusion based on such unjustified assumption.

Even assuming that all people who snore also stop breathing during the night, the author assumes that the interruption of breathing wakes the person and makes him or her too tired to exercise. Lacking evidence to justify this assumption, perhaps the interruption of breathing wakes the person but leave the person not too tired since the waking goes unnoticed. Or perhaps the person still insists on exercising though feels tired. Without ruling out these and other possibilities, the author cannot justify this assumption and make a convincing conclusion on the basis of such an assumption.

Even assuming the author can substantiate the foregoing assumptions, the author assumes that people who snore are more likely to gain weight is due to lacking exercise (sleep apnea). The author overlooks many other factors that can lead to gaining weight. Perhaps the people who snore gain weight due to their gene which accelerates the increase of fat in their body. Or perhaps they prefer to eat foods containing high fat so much and gain weight though they persist to do exercise everyday. Without considering these explanations, the author cannot make me convinced.

In sum, the argument is unpersuasive as it stands. To bolster the conclusion, the author must provide clear evidence that the people who snore gain weight because they snore and that the snoring causing them not to exercise. To better assess this conclusion, more information about the people who snore and more detail about the gaining weight course are needed.