美国国家公共电台 NPR--NPR's new series is called Living Better: How Americans can take back their health

NPR's new series is called Living Better: How Americans can take back their health

Transcript¹

Americans rank poorly on many health outcomes compared to other countries. The new series Living Better explore ways to change that.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

So this week, NPR is launching an ongoing² series of stories called "Living Better: How Americans Can Take Back Their Health." Americans rank poorly on many health outcomes compared to other nations, and things only got worse during the pandemic. So what can be done about it? NPR's Allison Aubrey joins us to talk about the project. Good morning.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE³: Good morning.

FADEL: So give us a preview of the series. Why this focus now?

AUBREY: You know, you might remember how many times my colleagues and I came on this program during the pandemic with the COVID death count - a thousand deaths a day, 2,000 deaths a day, and everyone was horrified⁴. Well, the reality is the U.S. has a similar death toll⁵ from preventable diseases. Nearly a thousand deaths a day are linked to diet-related disease - heart disease, complications from Type 2 diabetes⁶, liver disease. Now, these deaths are not as dramatic, but I think the great tragedy is that despite having here in the U.S. the most sophisticated health care system in the world - great doctors, top-notch hospitals, lots of medical breakthroughs - we as a nation are not getting healthier.

FADEL: I mean, just hearing that number - a thousand deaths a day from diet-related diseases - if I had heard you say that every day for months, it really impacts you. When you put it that way, it does sound awful. So where do we start to turn it around?

AUBREY: Well, we start by recognizing who is falling behind. It's not everyone equally. If you take a fairly wealthy ZIP code - let's say Princeton, N.J. That's 08542. People who live there can expect to live into their late 80s or 90 years old, but not too far away in Camden, average life expectancy⁷ is lower - about 74 years. That's a big difference. So where you live influences how long you live.

FADEL: So it's not necessarily access to a doctor as much as access to a safe place to live and resources.

AUBREY: Absolutely. So we want to tell some stories of hope. Despite these challenges, there are communities coming together to prioritize health. We plan to visit Muskegon, Mich., where they are scaling up evidence-based programs such as the Diabetes Prevention Program. There's lots of data to show that this disease can be prevented or reversed with healthy eating and exercise. And the YMCA in Muskegon is showing that a community approach to diabetes prevention can be less expensive compared to one-on-one counseling and can also help bring people together.

FADEL: And community programs, as you point out, are important. What about doctors and the health care system?

AUBREY: I think one of the criticisms of our system is that it's not so much health care as it is disease care. You know, we wait for people to get sick and then try to fix them with surgeries and drugs, which of course, can help, but it's very expensive. At a time when the U.S. spends about $4 trillion a year in health care each year, only 4 or 5% of that is directed toward public health and prevention.

FADEL: Wait, what? Out of $4 trillion, only 4 to 5% is about the prevention that stops us going to the hospitals?

AUBREY: Yes, single digits⁸.

FADEL: So then when it comes to prevention, are there things that people can just do for themselves?

AUBREY: Absolutely. I mean, our big levers are what we eat, how much we sleep, how we manage stress. Do we make time for exercise, movement, for socializing with friends? I think it's not always easy to make the healthiest choices. Earlier this week, I was at Starbucks with my daughter, and she was eyeing the cake pop and a pink drink, and I said something like, oh, that's more sugar than you should have in a day. And she just gave me this side eye. She kind of shrugged⁹. She said, Mom, like, everyone eats this kind of stuff. So here I am feeling like the bad guy because everywhere you look, there's sugary and salty, ultraprocessed foods. It can be kind of frustrating¹⁰.

FADEL: Right. And that's if you have the choice to actually get to a place that has healthy, fresh food.

AUBREY: That's right. So one of the things we want to do in this series, Leila, is to look around. We're going to look around in Paris, Calif., for example, where supermarkets have been told they must swap¹¹ out candy and junk food for healthier items in the checkout¹² lines, just to see how small tweaks, policy changes, can help nudge people to healthier choices.

FADEL: Thanks, Alison. I'm looking forward to hearing this.

AUBREY: Thanks, Leila.

FADEL: You can hear more "Living Better" stories this Wednesday on MORNING EDITION and All Things Considered.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

7 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

8 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

12 checkout   

n.（超市等）收银台，付款处

参考例句：

• Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
• A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。