I thought CONTROL ONESELF means CONTROL ONE'S TEMPER

[joham]

The following question appeared in my conprehension test, I chose C but the given answer was A. Could you please help explain which is the right answer?
Question: Many people can’t help putting on weight after the holidays because they ______.

　　A. can’t control themselves 　　B. go to too many parties

　　C. enjoy delicious foods 　　 D. can’t help turning away from the foods

The reading passage is below:
Do you love the holidays， but hate the increase in weight that follows? You are not alone.

　　Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. But many people are worried about the weight that comes with these delicious foods.

　　With proper (合适的) planning， it is possible to control your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following advice may be of some help to you.

　　Do not miss meals. Before you leave home for a party， have a small， low-fat meal or fast food. This may help you to keep you from getting too excited before the delicious foods.

　　Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate; a large plate may make you eat more than enough.
...

 

[J&K Tutoring]

"Controlling yourself" is perhaps most often used to mean controlling your temper, but is really means controlling all aspects of your personality, including your food intake.

This is a classic example of a test question formulated by someone who doesn't really understand the language. A strong case could be made for your answer, but the person administering the exam will only know one "correct" answer. Probably you know that B and D are not possible answers.

The best answer is A, because controlling intake is the key to keeping off holiday weight gain. There are "delicious foods" which do not cause weight gain, but let's face facts: most delicious foods do cause weight gain, which is why you responded as you did.

Funny the article suggests fast food as a way to avoid over-indulging. Fast food is notorious for being very high in calories.

 

[Tdol]

Also, you can enjoy delicious foods without putting on weight if you eat them in the right quantities. At least, people tell me this is possible. To make c) correct as a test question, you would need something like overindulge/eat too much, etc, for me.

 

[joham]

Thank you so much for your great help, J&K and Tdol. And thank you too, Rover.

One more question: Is this following sentence grammatically correct? People can't control themselves from eating too much delicious food.

 

[tedmc]

The sentence is OK, just that it looks like a sweeping statement. "Some people" would be better.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you so much for your great help, J&K and Tdol. And thank you too, Rover.

One more question: Is this following sentence grammatically correct? People can't control themselves from eating too much delicious food.

I find "can't control themselves from eating ..." unnatural.

Some people can't control their eating.
Some people can't control their appetite.
Some people can't stop themselves eating [too much] delicious food.

 

[joham]

Thank you very much for your help, emsr2d2 and tedmc. I was doubting if we could use 'People can't control themselves from eating too much delicious food', from which I doubted the answer "they can't control themselves".