访谈录 Interview 2007-04-15&17, 揭开肥胖真相

Nancy, good morning to you.

Hi, Meredith.

Working on this documentary, among other things, I realized that fat is a four-letter word in this country. You know, people feel so stigmatized 1.

They do. And we have such a love-hate relationship with food, and it's not a surprise to me that we're in this situation we know we're eating more processed foods than ever before, but we've also gotten physical education from our public schools. We can no longer just kick our kids out house and say go run the neighborhood and come back when it's time for dinner. And we aren't sitting down for family dinners anymore. So everything has gotten a bleak 2, I think, screwed up and it's led us to where we are right now.

Plus, there is a research based on the documentary and that indicates that the gut 3 has a mind of its own, a brain of its own, and it can override 4 even the strongest willpower.

That, and there're some elegant researches that perhaps fat is addictive 5 that infects your brain and gets to that center the same as nicotine 6, that you want it more. So reprogramming in yourself is important, and how you program your children from time to time as they grow up. Yeah.

One inspiring stories in the documentary is that of Mary Dimino, who we just saw in the clips. She is a comedian 7. She weighed 256 pounds at the point when she decided 8 she needed to lose weight. She lost 125 pounds. She is here with an old pair of pants. Mary, come and join us, please, with the big pants, wow.

Here is the pants. Can you believe me?

Gee 9, now how long did it take you to lose the weight, Mary? You look great, by the way.

Thank you. Thank you.

I don't know how long did it take you to lose the weight?

I lost 125 pounds and I've kept it off for 10 years.

That's fantastic.

It took about a year and a half to lose the bulk of it.

And the secret?

Is there a secret?

Um, uh, well, currently I work out 3 hours a day.

Now, why do you have to work out so much every day?

I really think it's because I was an obese 10 child, so I'm working at a disadvantage, and I have to put an extreme effort to, look, you know, have normal or to maintain this level of weight.

Really.

And is that common, Nancy? There is something about fat cells, once you have them, they are always there.

Well, yeah, that's true. Once you have fat cells, they change in size, but they don't really ever go away. And I think for a lot of people, you substitute one thing for another. And if you know that, exercise increases your endorphin that makes you feel good and keeps you away from snacking. You have to substitute one thing for another. And Mary's metabolic 11 rate may not be sky-high like some guys, so she may have to do this just to maintain a norm.

And she may never get to that rate.

That's right. Yet other people may not. I think it's very individualistic. But, exercise has to be part of the equation.

And what else in making the change?

Oh, I think no. It’s like any other addiction 12, you really have to know that you really really want it.

Oh, sure. I had to make a decision. You know, I had an epiphany and I thought that, you know, people cannot see past the heaviness, and I felt inside like a good person, and I wanted to persuade them.

Mary, thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Nancy, thank you.

Tomorrow, I'll be back after your local news.