VOA慢速英语2021 新冠疫情期间美国儿童肥胖症大幅增长（在线收听）

A new study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a large increase in obesity in American children and teenagers.

一项新研究发现，新冠肺炎大流行导致美国儿童和青少年肥胖症大幅增加。

Childhood obesity has been increasing for many years. The new study suggests that the rate of obesity quickened even more last year, especially among those who already were obese when the pandemic started.

儿童肥胖症多年来一直在增加。这项新研究表明去年肥胖率增长更快了，尤其是在那些大流行开始时已经肥胖的人当中。

The results signal a "profound increase in weight gain for kids" and are very concerning, said Doctor Alyson Goodman. She is with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one of the authors of the study.

阿利森·古德曼博士表示，这一结果预示着儿童体重增长的大幅提升，非常令人担忧。她在美国疾控与预防中心工作，也是这项研究的作者之一。

The pandemic appears to be making the nation's obesity epidemic worse. Obesity can put people at risk for heart disease and high blood pressure. Overweight people are also at higher risk for severe coronavirus infection.

大流行似乎使得美国肥胖症流行病更加严重。肥胖症会让人们面临患上心脏病和高血压的风险。超重人群感染新冠肺炎重症的风险也更高。

The CDC on Thursday released the study, which is the largest yet to look at obesity during the pandemic.

美国疾控与预防中心周四发布了这项研究，这是迄今为止大流行期间最大型的一项肥胖症研究。

It found that about 22 percent of children and teenagers were obese last August. That is up from 19 percent from the year before. Before the pandemic, children who were a healthy weight gained an average of 1.5 kilograms a year. That rose to 2.4 kilograms during the pandemic. And for severely obese kids, expected yearly weight gain went from 4 kilograms to 6.6 kilograms.

研究发现，去年8月约有22%的儿童和青少年肥胖。这比前一年的19%有所提升。在大流行之前，体重正常的儿童平均每年增重了1.5公斤。大流行期间这一数字增加到了2.4公斤。对于严重肥胖的儿童来说，预期每年体重增长从4公斤增长到6.6公斤。

The rate of obesity increased the highest in ages 6 to 11. Younger children are more dependent on their parents and may have been more effected when schools stopped in-person classes, the researchers said.

研究人员表示，肥胖率在6到11岁儿童当中增幅最高。年幼儿童更依赖父母，当学校停止面授课程时，他们受到的影响可能更大。

The research was based on an examination of medical records of more than 432,000 kids and teens, ages 2 to 19. They were weighed and measured at least twice before the pandemic and at least once early in the pandemic.

该研究是基于对超过43.2万名2到19岁儿童和青少年的医疗记录的审查。他们在大流行之前至少进行了两次称重和测量，在大流行初期至少进行了一次。

There were some limits to the study. It only included children who received medical care before and during the pandemic, the researchers said. It also did not look at the differences in weight gain between racial and ethnic groups.

这项研究有一定局限性。研究人员表示，它只包括在大流行之前以及大流行期间接受过医疗护理的儿童。它也没有考虑种族群体之间体重增长的差异。

Earlier this week, the CDC said there are now 16 states where at least 35 percent of the population is obese. Most are in the southern part of the country.

本周早些时候，美国疾控与预防中心表示，现在美国有16个州至少35%的人口达到了肥胖。这些州大部分位于美国南部。