VOA慢速英语2016 亚洲儿童面临饥饿和肥胖两重天

AS IT IS 2016-03-31 Asian Children Face Hunger and Obesity 1 亚洲儿童面临饥饿和肥胖两重天

Asian children are becoming increasingly under-nourished or obese 2, a new report says.

有报告显示：亚洲儿童营养过剩现象增加

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) joint 3 report was released Monday.

联合国儿童基金会以及世卫组织周一共同发布报告

The two agencies call for better regulation of junk food and a limit on sugary drinks for children.

两家组织呼吁限制儿童垃圾食品和糖分摄入量

They also call for action against malnutrition 4. A lack of food has stunted 5 children — or hurt their development – who live in poverty.

还呼吁解决儿童营养不良问题。那些家境贫困儿童患有营养不良，往往会影响儿童发育

The report says the costs of child malnutrition and obesity in Southeast Asia are great. These problems are seen in the middle-income countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

报告显示：在东南亚地区，营养不良儿童数量和营养过剩儿童数量都很多。这些问题主要发生在中等收入国家，例如印度尼西亚、马来西亚、菲律宾和泰国

In Indonesia, the report says, child malnutrition hurts child development and leads to diseases that cost $248 billion a year.

报告中说：印度尼西亚儿童患营养不良会影响正常发育，每年因治疗营养不良导致疾病需要花费2.48万亿美元

Dorothy Foote is a UNICEF regional nutritional 6 specialist. She said the problems are a “burgeoning crisis”— or one that is growing. It covers both child nutrition and the general population, she said.

联合国儿童基金会地区营养学家Dorothy Foote：现在这些问题还不太严重，但是正在变得越来越严重。目前成人和儿童都在受到该问题威胁

“At UNICEF we are particularly concerned about children, but in general, we do have a crisis. That's going to affect not only families and communities but also governments and societies, that the costs of the ‘double burden' are tremendous,” Foote told VOA.

“我们联合国儿童基金会特别关注儿童健康。总体上来说，这的确是一个危机，不仅仅会影响家庭和社区还好影响政府和社会。如此造成的两头负担很重”

The report found that in most countries, there are equal amounts of overweight and under-nourished children. For example, in Indonesia, 12 percent of children are overweight, the same number as those who are malnourished.

报告中提到：大部分国家，儿童患营养过剩和营养不良的数量大致相当。例如，在印尼，有12%儿童超重，但是也有12%儿童营养不良

In Thailand, it says numbers are increasing with 7 percent of children malnourished and 11 percent overweight.

在泰国，儿童营养不良人数已经上升到7%，营养过剩人数上升到11%

Foote said there is still a “tremendous burden,” with lack of nutrition, “both chronic 7 and acute.” That means the problem is ongoing 8, and severe. The levels of stunting 9 are very serious.

Dorothy Foote表示：现在营养不良问题还很严重，并且问题造成的影响是慢性又是巨大的。现在问题正在扩大并且变得越来越严重，营养不良儿童人数不容乐观

Laos has the highest number of stunted children, with 44 percent. High rates are also reported in Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Indonesia.

老挝儿童患营养不良人数最多，占了44%。此外，柬埔寨、缅甸、菲律宾和印尼人数也很多

The report says most of them — 12 million of the 17 million stunted children in Southeast Asia -- live in Indonesia and the Philippines.

报告中说：在1.2亿到1.7亿营养不良儿童大部分都位于东南亚，特别是印尼和菲律宾

Foote said the lack of food affects children's height and development inside their bodies. But at the same time, the area is facing “skyrocketing” levels of overweight children.

Dorothy Foote如果营养不良，就会影响孩子长高和身体发育。但同时，这些地区营养过剩儿童数量也在迅猛上升

The main reason for the food problems, the report says, is there is more “junk” food available, food that does not provide nutrition. Another problem is drinks with high sugar or high trans-fat, but low nutritional value.

主要原因出在食物上，因为孩子吃太多垃圾食品。还有就是喝太多高糖和含很多反式脂肪酸但是没有营养价值的饮料里

Lack of physical activity is also part of the problem, the report says.

缺乏体育锻炼也是导致问题原因

The agencies say these problems exist despite years of economic development. Southeast Asia is seen as a key economic driver for the world economy. But the gap, or distance, between rich and poor has grown.

尽管这些年经济有了发展，但是这些问题依然存在。东南亚国家作为拉动世界经济发展主力军，但是国家贫富差距还是很大

Foote said this is seen in nutrition across the area. She said people lack knowledge about what is needed and normal for healthy child development.

Dorothy Foote说：当地人不知道到底要给孩子提供什么营养食物。

The economic growth in the area has brought “unhealthy products” to rural areas. Poor and middle-class families buy them and do not make “the right choices to use healthier foods instead.” Poor feeding practices, especially for children younger than two, mean ongoing high levels of malnutrition.

经济发展给农村地区带去许多不健康产品。贫困和中等家庭喜欢购买垃圾食品，而不是健康食物。不好好给孩子准备食物，特别是家里有2个以上孩子的，往往很容易得上营养不良

The report says governments need to regulate the marketing 10 of junk food and sugary drinks to children.

报告中说：政府需要现在给儿童的垃圾食品和高糖饮料

It also calls for better feeding practices for infants and young children, and treatment for severely 11 malnourished children. And it says countries should work to reduce poverty and make sure that girls stay in school.

因此给孩子提供更有营养的食物，给营养不良儿童提供治疗。还要提供贫困家庭生活水平，让女孩子接受教育

Words in This Story

malnutrition –n. unhealthy condition due to lack of proper food, nutrition, not eating enough of the right foods

stunted –v. someone or something stopped from growing or developing

burden –n. something or someone very difficult to accept, do or deal with

skyrocketing –idiom. moving up quickly, like a rocket climbs into the sky