VOA标准英语2008年-Study Links Everyday Chemicals to Obesity

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
14 May 2008

Scientists say new evidence links certain chemicals to the development of obesity¹. About 2,500 international experts are attending the 16th European Congress on Obesity in Geneva. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA the participants are assessing the latest research from basic science to practical prevention programs and medical treatment for obesity.

About half of the world's population is overweight or obese². And, scientists and policy makers³ say the problem is growing and causing people to die prematurely⁴ because of obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes⁵ and heart disease.

Scientists at the conference presented results of several studies in animals that show that exposure to certain substances during development, either in the womb or during infancy⁶, may contribute to obesity later in life.

These chemicals are used to make products such as baby bottles, the lining⁷ of food cans and some plastic food wraps and containers.

The scientists agree eating too much and exercising too little remain the major causes of obesity. But, they cite new evidence that mice exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals during pregnancy⁸ produce offspring that became fat as adults.

Bruce Blumberg is a developmental biologist at the University of California at Irvine. He is looking at the link between obesity and another class of chemical compounds called Tributylin. This is used as a fungicide and treatment for industrial water supplies, wells and in various kinds of plastics found in water pipes.

"Exposure to very tiny levels of tributylin is able to alter metabolism⁹ such that animals and presumably people get fatter," said Bruce Blumberg. "We know from other studies that drugs, which target the same receptor make people who take the drug get fat. We have also shown in our animal models that when you expose mice in utero to tributylin and then never again, that these animals will get about 15 percent fatter at adulthood¹⁰. A single pre-natal exposure alters the physiology¹¹ of the exposed animals such that they will become fat later in life."

The scientists say this information has the potential to change how people view and treat obesity. If these findings are proven to be true in humans, they say then the focus in tackling obesity must change.

They say there should be a shift from adult weight loss to the prevention of weight gain during development by reducing the exposure to certain substances.

Neuro-endocrinologist at Tufts University in the United States, Beverly Rubin, says people can do many things to limit exposure to hormone-altering chemicals.

"If we consider that the majority of exposure is by ingestion, it is pretty easy to stay away from polycarbonate plastics and to use fresh foods instead of canned foods and try to avoid the sources that we know contain this Bisphenol A leaching," she said. "And I think it is most important if we are talking about pregnant mothers because our studies and the studies of many other laboratories show that the most concern is during development, during early development, during fetal development."

The scientists agree obesity is caused by multiple factors and must be treated in multiple ways. They say new research shows obese patients can achieve long-term weight loss without drugs using a low-cost approach involving innovative¹² intensive therapy.

1 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

2 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

7 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

8 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

9 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

10 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

11 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

12 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。