早读英语精华本下册 Unit17

 　　Stay Thin By Sleeping More
A study published Monday found that people who sleep less tend to be fat, and experts said it's time find if more sleep will fight obesity¹.
"We've put so much emphasis on diet and exercise that we've failed to recognize the value of good sleep," said a physician .
The study covered 1,000 people and found that total sleep time decreased as body mass index -- a measure of weight based on height -- increased.
Men slept an average of 27 minutes less than women and overweight and obese² patients slept less than patients with normal weights, it said. In general, the fatter subjects slept about 1.8 hours a week less than those with normal weights.
"Our findings suggest that major extensions of sleep time may not be necessary, as an extra 20 minutes of sleep per night seems to be associated with a lower body mass index," it added.
"We caution that this study does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between restricted sleep and obesity, but investigations³ demonstrating success in weight loss via extensions of sleep would help greatly to establish such a relationship."

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 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。