VOA慢速英语2017 研究表明：世界近三分之一的人口超重

A new study finds one third of the world’s population is overweight or considered obese 1.

一项新的研究发现世界上三分之一的人口超重或被认为是肥胖的。 

Since 1980, obesity 2 rates in children and adults have doubled in 73 countries.And rates are increasing in many other countries, according to a report released on Monday.

自1980年以来，73个国家的儿童和成人肥胖率翻了一番。根据星期一发布的一份报告，其他很多国家的肥胖率正在上升。

The report was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

该报告发表在《新英格兰医学杂志》上。 

Obesity is increasing faster in children than adults in many nations, including Algeria, Turkey and Jordan, the report said.But the world’s weight problem is growing in both rich and poor countries alike.

该报告称，在许多国家，包括阿尔及利亚、土耳其和约旦，肥胖儿童的增长速度超过成人。无论是富国还是穷国，世界上的体重问题都在日益严重。

Researchers say an increasing number of people are dying of related health problems in what they called a “disturbing global public health crisis.”

研究人员说，越来越多的人正死于他们所谓的“令人不安的全球公共卫生危机”中的相关健康问题。 

About four million people died of cardiovascular disease,diabetes 3, cancer and other diseases linked to excess weight in 2015, according to the study.

根据这项研究，在2015年，大约四百万人死于心血管疾病，糖尿病，癌症和其他与超重有关的疾病。

“People who shrug 4 off weight gain do so at their own risk,” said Christopher Murray, one of the writers of the report.

该报告的作者之一克里斯多夫·默里说：“那些对体重增加不屑一顾的人是在以身犯险。” 

Researchers studied health information from 1980 through 2015.They examined obesity rates, average weight gain and the cause of death in 195 countries.They found that obesity rates are three times greater among youth and young adults in countries like China, Brazil and India.

研究人员研究了从1980年到2015年的健康信息。他们调查了195个国家的肥胖率、平均体重增加量和死亡原因。他们发现，在像中国、巴西和印度这样的国家，青少年中的肥胖率高了三倍。

Almost 108 million children and more than 600 million adults were found to be obese.Together, that represents about 10 percent of the world’s population.

发现近1亿800万名儿童和6亿多名成年人肥胖。总共约占世界人口的10%。  

Among the top 20 most populous 5 countries in 2015, Egypt had the highest number of age-standardized obese adults.Vietnam had the least.In the same year, the United States had the highest number of obese children, and Bangladesh had the least.

在2015年，人口最多的前20个国家中，埃及年龄标准化肥胖成年人的数量最多。越南最少。同年，美国肥胖儿童的数量最多，孟加拉最少。

Researchers say the extra weight people are carrying increases their risk of developing diabetes or other health problems.

研究人员称，超重的人们患糖尿病或其他健康问题的风险增加。 

Yet hunger remains 6 a problem in many areas.The United Nations estimates that almost 800 million people, including 300 million children, go to bed hungry each night.

然而饥饿在许多地区仍然是个问题。联合国估计，每晚有8亿人，包括3亿个孩子，饿着肚子上床睡觉。

Experts said poor diets and lack of physical activity are mainly to blame for the rising numbers of overweight people.

专家说，不良饮食和缺乏体育活动是造成超重人数不断增加的主要原因。 

Growing populations have led to rising obesity rates in poor countries.Often, poor people will eat processed foods instead of choosing a diet rich in vegetables.

不断增长的人口导致贫穷国家的肥胖率不断上升。通常，穷人会吃加工过的食物而不是选择富含蔬菜的饮食。

“People are consuming more and more processed foods that are high in sugar and fat and exercising less,”said Boitshepo Giyose, senior nutrition officer at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

“人们正在食用越来越多的加工食品，它们中糖和脂肪的含量很高，人们锻炼得也少。”鲍伊特舍珀·基约瑟说道。他是在联合国粮食及农业组织的高级营养主任。

The London-based Overseas Development Institute studied the price of food in five countries: Britain, Brazil, China, Mexico and South Korea.It found that the cost of processed foods like ice cream and hamburgers has fallen since 1990.But the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables has gone up.

总部位于伦敦的海外发展研究所研究了五个国家的食品价格：英国，巴西，中国，墨西哥，韩国。研究发现，冰淇淋和汉堡包等加工食品的价格自1990年以来有所下降。但是新鲜水果和蔬菜的价格上涨了。

Words in This Story

obese – adj. very fat in a way that is unhealthy

disturbing – adj troubling

cardiovascular – adj. of or relating to the heart and blood vessels 7

shrug off – phrasal v. to think of or treat (something) as not important : to pay no attention to (something)

age-standardized – adj. the rate of a disease in a population if the population had a standard age structure