Meaning: 'Stubborn' means difficult to remove or change, which perfectly captures the idea that these love handles are resistant to dieting efforts.

Wrong options:

• cutworm: 'Cutworm' refers to a type of caterpillar and does not relate to the context of weight or dieting, making it irrelevant here.
• battalion: 'Battalion' refers to a military unit and does not fit the context of describing love handles, as it implies a group rather than a characteristic.
• perversion: 'Perversion' refers to a distortion of something, which does not apply to the context of weight loss and is grammatically inappropriate in this sentence.

Correct answer: brownies

Explanation: The word 'brownies' fits well contextually as it refers to a type of dessert that one might crave when feeling frustrated about weight loss, aligning with the emotional tone of the passage.

Meaning: 'Brownies' are a type of chocolate dessert that is often associated with comfort food, which makes sense in the context of wanting to indulge during a tough weight loss journey.

Wrong options:

• outfields: 'Outfields' refers to a part of a sports field and does not relate to food or cravings, making it contextually irrelevant.
• rowdies: 'Rowdies' refers to noisy or disorderly people, which does not fit the context of food or cravings at all.
• browbeats: 'Browbeats' means to intimidate or bully, which is unrelated to the context of food and does not fit grammatically or contextually.

Correct answer: discovered

Explanation: The word 'discovered' is the correct choice as it indicates that researchers found out something new, fitting grammatically in the past tense and contextually with the scientific findings being discussed.

Meaning: 'Discovered' means to find out something that was previously unknown, which is appropriate in the context of scientific research.

Wrong options:

• grandstand: 'Grandstand' means to show off or attract attention, which does not fit the context of scientific findings and is grammatically incorrect here.
• scrambled: 'Scrambled' refers to mixing things up, which does not apply to the context of making a discovery and is not grammatically suitable.
• entangled: 'Entangled' means to be caught up in something, which does not relate to the act of discovering and is contextually inappropriate.

Correct answer: lifetime

Explanation: The word 'lifetime' fits grammatically and contextually as it refers to the duration of existence of the fat cells, aligning with the scientific discussion about their longevity.

Meaning: 'Lifetime' refers to the duration of time that something exists, which is relevant in the context of how long fat cells last.

Wrong options:

• quinine: 'Quinine' is a medication used to treat malaria and does not relate to the context of fat cells or their lifespan.
• slimline: 'Slimline' refers to something that is slim or thin, which does not fit the context of discussing the lifespan of fat cells.
• guideline: 'Guideline' refers to a general rule or principle, which is not relevant to the context of the lifespan of fat cells.

Correct answer: replacement

Explanation: The word 'replacement' fits grammatically and contextually as it refers to the process of new fat cells being formed, which is central to the discussion about weight loss.

Meaning: 'Replacement' means the act of substituting something, which in this context refers to the formation of new fat cells taking the place of old ones.

Wrong options:

• basest: 'Basest' refers to the lowest or most basic level, which does not fit the context of fat cells and is grammatically incorrect here.
• restatement: 'Restatement' refers to saying something again in a different way, which does not apply to the context of fat cells and their formation.
• peculated: 'Peculated' means to embezzle or steal, which is completely unrelated to the context of fat cells and is not grammatically suitable.