VOA标准英语2010年-An Hour Workout A Day Helps Keep Extra

Here is sobering news. The World Health Organization says more than one billion adults are fat, and at least 400 million people are obese¹. As old fashioned as it sounds, doctors say the best way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more. But for women who are middle aged² or older, experts say one hour of daily exercise per day is necessary just to maintain weight. The heavier a woman is, the harder she will have to work - at cutting calories.

Life's just not fair. Biologically speaking, women carry more body fat than men.  They require fewer calories than men.  For most men and women, fitting in an hour of moderately intense exercise in an already hectic³ day is difficult, if not impossible.

But for many women, most hours are already filled with a full-time⁴ job and raising a family. 

At the end of the day, at least in the U.S., there is little incentive⁵ to prepare a real dinner when fast food is so available - and so much more fattening⁶.  But some women working out at a Boston gym say they would be willing to wedge that hourly workout into their day.

"I would be willing to do it if it was going to maintain my weight and keep my health," Jane Davern said.

"All right, I would do it," Jean Holmes states. "I would exercise to maintain my body weight, yes."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says the percentage of overweight Americans increased 60 percent between 1991 and 2000.

 

The World Health Organization says more than one billion adults in other nations are in the same shape.

While there is advice aplenty on how to lose pounds or kilograms, a new study focuses on middle aged and older women who maintain normal body weight, or BMI (Body Mass Index)  and do not diet.

"We found that physical activity was effective in controlling weight only among women who started off with a normal BMI," I-Min Lee states. She and colleagues at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston studied data from 34,000 women, whose average age was 54. 

During a 13-year period, the women were separated into three groups. The first group exercised daily for 60 minutes.
The second exercised 30 minutes a day, and the third group worked out less than half an hour daily.

"These two lesser⁷ activity groups of women were significantly more likely to gain weight," she said. "Compared to the most active group of women."

During the study, the average weight of the participants went up by six pounds, or 2.7 kilograms. 

So, what can overweight women do?  Surprisingly, I-Min Lee and her colleagues found more exercise did not help.

"Once a woman became overweight or obese, there was no relation between physical activity and weight change among these women," Lee said. But I-Min Lee says heavier women should keep on exercising. 

"While our study shows that this might not be sufficient to maintain normal weight, it clearly is sufficient to reduce the risk of developing many chronic⁸ diseases, including heart disease, certain types of cancer, type two diabetes," Lee explained.

The researchers say while exercise helps prevent disease, the only way that heavier women can lose weight is to simply cut calories.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
 

1 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。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

4 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

5 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

6 fattening   

adj.（食物）要使人发胖的v.喂肥( fatten的现在分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值

参考例句：

• The doctor has advised him to keep off fattening food. 医生已建议他不要吃致肥食物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We substitute margarine for cream because cream is fattening. 我们用人造黄油代替奶油，因为奶油会使人发胖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

8 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。