From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康和生活方式报道。
For the past 15 years, experts on obesity have gathered in Plymouth, England to attend a conference. It is estimated that more than half the city's adults are overweight or obese. The rest of Britain is not doing much better.
在过去15年里，肥胖专家都聚集到英国普利茅斯参加会议。据估计，该市一半以上的成年人超重或肥胖。英国其它城市情况也好不到哪去。
But what is happening in the U.K. is also happening in the U.S. and other Western countries as well as in a growing number of developing nations.
但是英国所发生的情况同样发生在美国等西方国家，以及越来越多的发展中国家。
VOA's Joe De Capua talked with the expert who chaired the conference called the Plymouth Symposium on Obesity, Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome. Jonathan Pinkney is a professor of endocrinology and diabetes at Plymouth University.
美国之音的乔·卡普亚（Joe De Capua）与主持普利茅斯肥胖、糖尿病和代谢综合症会议的专家进行了对话。乔纳森·平克尼（Jonathan Pinkney）是普利茅斯大学内分泌和糖尿病学教授。
Professor Pinkney said obesity is a long-term problem that is very difficult to solve. He said no one health issue has more impact on human health than obesity. Professor Pinkney called obesity a complex issue involving more than what a person eats.
平克尼教授表示，肥胖是一个非常难以解决的长期问题。他说，没有哪种健康问题对人体健康的影响超过肥胖。平克尼教授称肥胖是一个复杂的问题，不仅仅涉及到人们的饮食。
"I personally feel that this is such a wide field. There are so many issues. There's politics. There's biology. There's the food industry. There's everything you can imagine. So, I think it's right to talk about everything under one umbrella."
“我个人认为这个问题涉及的领域非常广泛，包括很多方面的问题，例如政治，生物，食品行业以及你能想到的各个方面。所以我认为应该把所有问题放到一起来讨论。”
Overweight or obese?
超重或肥胖？
Mr. Pinkney says obesity can interfere and impair the ability to have a normal life. It can destroy or devastate personal relationship.
平克尼先生表示，肥胖会干扰和损害正常生活的能力。它可以破坏会摧毁人际关系。
"When body size becomes so huge that it impairs people's day-to-day function and quality of life and well-being and personal relationships ... yeah, that's kind of devastating. That tends to occur at a higher level of body weight."
“当身体变得如此巨大，它会损害人们的日常机能、生活质量、健康和人际关系。这些都是毁灭性的。这往往发生在体重水平很高的时候。”
Mr. Pinkney warns that even people who are not considered obese can still be at risk. He said many people eat the wrong foods and do not get enough physical activity. People have been getting heavier and heavier slowly over time, he said. And that's a problem.
平克尼先生警告说，那些不被认为是肥胖的人也会面临风险。他说，许多人吃得不健康，并且没有进行足够运动。人们会慢慢随着时间推移变得越来越重。这是一个问题。
"That's the more important point for the health of the population. You know, all the diabetes and heart attacks and cancers and things. I mean that's really caused by lower levels of weight gain."
“对于人类健康来说这非常重要。要知道所有糖尿病、心脏病和癌症等疾病都是由体重缓慢增加引起的。”
Effects of food industry advertising
食品行业广告的影响
The conference provided much information about the biology of the brain and appetite control. The professor said people know how to eat healthy. But this knowledge is often overtaken by marketing of the food industry.
这次会议提供了大量关于大脑和食欲控制这些生物学方面的信息。平克尼教授表示，人们懂得如何健康饮食。但是这些知识通常被食品行业的营销所取代。
Advertisers show food on television and in print in a way that creates immediate desire. Professor Pinkney said these images can help lead some people to eat unhealthy foods.
电视和印刷品上的食品广告会立刻引发食欲。平克尼教授表示，这些图片会导致一些人食用不健康食物。
He said he believes such pressure overpowers the biological systems that work to keep people at a healthy weight. Professor Pinkney said it is difficult to make progress in populations that eat a lot of sugar, salt and fat.
他说，他认为这种压力压倒了致力于保持人们体重正常的生物系统。平克尼教授表示，很难在这些食用大量糖、盐和脂肪的人群中取得进展。
"There's a multinational food industry and there's huge vested interest in selling a lot of the stuff."
“跨国食品行业在出售大量产品方面存在巨大利益。”
The expert argued that the obesity epidemic must be stopped at its source: when eating habits begin. Children, he said, often learn poor eating habits from their parents.
该专家督促阻止肥胖的流行必须掐住源头。他说，当孩子们开始建立饮食习惯时，他们通常会学习父母的不良饮食习惯。
"I think a lot of things start very early in life. You know, it's difficult to break the habits of a lifetime, isn't it? I think we all find that. But I think our health and our prospects for the future are kind of laid down fairly early. And I think that's not surprising. Big kids often have big parents. I think they learn this at an early stage."
“我认为很多事情始于人生初期。要知道，要打破一生的习惯很难，不是吗？我们大家都发现了这点。但我认为，我们的健康和前途很早就定好了，这并不奇怪。块头大的孩子通常其父母块头也大。我认为他们一早就养成了习惯。”
The professor suggests one way to improve the situation. He said children should be protected from advertising and marketing put out by the food industry.
平克尼教授提出了一种改善这种状况的建议。他说，孩子们应该受到保护，免受食品行业投放到广告和营销活动的影响。
Refined vs. unrefined carbohydrates
精制和粗制碳水化合物
Besides marketing campaigns, the professor also blames refined carbohydrates and sugars for much of the obesity epidemic. Carbohydrates are commonly put into two groups: simple and complex. They can also be categorized as unrefined and refined carbohydrates.
除了营销活动，平克尼教授还将大部分肥胖归咎于精制碳水化合物和糖。碳水化合物通常分为两类：简单的和复杂的。他们还能分为粗制和精制碳水化合物。
"Refining" is a process that removes fiber, nutrients and other items contained within the food in its natural state. Refining also concentrates sugars and can cause our blood sugar levels to change more rapidly than normal. This can cause people to feel tired or put them in a bad mood. It can also increase the appetite.
精制是一种去除食物中包含的纤维、营养物质等天然成分的过程。精制还浓缩了糖类，并且会导致我们的血糖水平比正常水平变化更快。这会导致人们疲倦，或者情绪不好。它还会增加食欲。
Prof. Pinkney said these refined, overly-processed foods set people up to fail. Without complex fiber, these foods do not satisfy a person's hunger for long. So, people eat their next meal sooner than normal.
平克尼教授表示，这些精制、过度加工的食物会让人们注定失败。这些食物没有复杂纤维，不抗饿，所以人们会比正常水平更快吃下一顿。
Prof. Pinkney suggests we learn from our distant ancient ancestors -- the hunter-gatherers.
平克尼教授建议我们学习狩猎采集者这些远古先民。
"The hunter-gatherers, you know, going right back to last Ice Age and before that would have had a diet that was rich in complex, sort of, fiber type carbohydrate. There would be protein in it now and again. But it didn't have all the sugar. So, the diet that is, of course, followed by traditional peoples is radically different."
“狩猎采集者可以追溯到第四纪冰河时代之前，当时我们的食物中没有高纤维碳水化合物，可能不时会有蛋白质。但是没有各种糖类。所以古人们的食物完全不一样。”
Prof. Pinkney said all these areas – from advertising and policy to medical interventions – need to be addressed to stop the obesity epidemic.
平克尼教授表示，需要解决从广告到政治再到医疗干预等各个领域的问题来阻止肥胖的流行。
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says over 35 percent of American adults are obese. That is almost 79 million people. The government agency says more than 17 million children are obese. The yearly medical cost of obesity in the U.S. is almost $200 billion.
美国疾病控制与预防中心表示，超过35%的美国成年人属于肥胖，人数达到7900万人。该中心表示，超过1700万儿童属于肥胖。美国每年的肥胖医疗费用接近2000亿美元。
I'm Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥（Anna Matteo）。

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