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: 338 TIME: 0:30:00 DATE: 2006-2-22
Obviously, the author gives a clumsy reasoning and overlooks many important factors to conclude.
Firstly, as the author mentions, the interruption of breathing wakes the person often so briefly that the waking goes unnoticed. Now that the sleep apnea is so briefly that is even hardly noticed, why it will leave the person too tired during the day. It seems a paradox here to infer that people will be so much tired to exercise.
Secondly, since there's sleep apnea making people snore more tired, which means they loose more calories at night, can we understand that though people snore exercise less but they loose more calories though sleep apnea? Unless the concrete data is contrast in details, we can not infer that people snore exercise less and lose calories less which lead to obesity.
The third weakness is that if only less exercise can result in fatness. As we all know that fatness relates to too many factors including digestion. Therefore it is possible that a person with poor digestion will not be fat though he or she never exercises. As long as conditions of people snore are the same as people do not, snoring could be the factor of obesity.
At last, the recommendation for anyone who snores is fragile. As the author says, people snore will be too tired to exercise, how could they exercise more? Even if they could, how could they eat less? More exercise means more calories, if they do not get enough calories they need, the balance of heat will be broken which induces sickness. So the recommendation can not be substantiated before specific explanation.
To sum up, the reasoning could be more convincing with points below: data showing sleep apnea indeed resulting in tired level on which exercise can not be taken; data showing calories lost contrast between sleep apnea and exercise; survey showing when conditions of people snore are the same as people do not, the former are fatter; detailed ratiocination and demonstration of the advice for people snore.