the leading cause of death

[angliholic]

Many of us have heard the statistic that heart disease is the leading causes of death in the U.S. The good news for those at risk everywhere is that caffeine has been shown to reduce this threat significantly.


Hi,
First of all, is it all right to replace "the leading cause of death" with "the major causes of death?"
Second, why is it the passive voice--caffeine has been shown? Would the active voice do the same trick--caffeine has shown? Thanks.

[BobK]

Originally Posted by angliholic

Many of us have heard the statistic that heart disease is the leading causes of death in the U.S. The good news for those at risk everywhere is that caffeine has been shown to reduce this threat significantly.


Hi,
First of all, is it all right to replace "the leading cause of death" with "the major causes of death?"
OK (in principle), but why the plural? It's either 'the major cause of death' (if it is), or 'one of the major causes' (if you're not sure or don't want to commit yourself).
Second, why is it the passive voice--caffeine has been shown? Would the active voice do the same trick--caffeine has shown? Thanks.

Who or what did the showing? You could use the active voice to express this idea, but would 'caffeine' be the subject? What would?
(If I were artistic, I'd draw a picture of an animated coffee jar giving a PowerPoint presentation! [Thanks for the idea... Hmm...] )

b