VOA慢速英语2019 研究称2030年前将有半数美国人肥胖（在线收听）

Within 10 years, nearly half of American adults will be obese—or very overweight—a new report predicts.

一份新的报告预测，10年内将会有近一半美国成年人肥胖或超重。

In addition, the researchers warned that one in four Americans will be severely obese.

此外研究人员还警告说，有1/4的美国人将会严重肥胖。

The new report used a federal study that lasted more than 20 years and included data from 6.3 million adults. The researchers made predictions for the future based on current trends.

这份新报告采用了一项持续20多年的联邦研究，其中包含了近630万成年人的数据。研究人员根据当前趋势对未来进行了预测。

Their study corrects for a weakness in earlier studies. Before, research usually depended on national health surveys in which people often reported their weight as less than it really was.

他们的研究纠正了早期研究的不足。以前，研究通常依赖于全美健康调查，人们在调查中经常会少报体重。

"It's alarming," said nutrition expert Dr. Lawrence Appel of Johns Hopkins University. He was not involved in the study. "We're going to have some pretty awful problems" medically and financially because so many people weigh too much, he said.

约翰霍普金斯大学的营养专家劳伦斯·阿佩尔博士表示：“这令人震惊。”他没有参与这项研究。他说，因为太多人体重过重，我们在医学和财务上将会面临一些非常可怕的问题。

The New England Journal of Medicine published the study in December. It was the result of work by researchers at Harvard and George Washington universities.

《新英格兰医学杂志》于12月份发表了这项研究。这是哈佛大学和乔治华盛顿大学的研究人员的研究成果。

The chief writer of the study, Zachary Ward, is with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. He spoke about the findings with Reuters news service.

这项研究的首席作者扎卡里·沃德就职于哈佛大学陈曾熙公共卫生学院。他对路透社谈到了这一发现。

"Obesity is getting worse in every state," he said. "And especially concerning is severe obesity, which used to be pretty rare" and which now will be the most common group for a lot of states across the country.

他说，每个州的肥胖情况都在恶化，尤其令人担忧的是严重肥胖症，这在过去很少见，现在它将成为全美国许多州最常见的群体。

Most affected will be women, blacks and low-income adults. The study said nearly one third of people in those groups will be severely obese.

受影响最大的将是妇女、黑人和低收入成年人。该研究称，这些人群中有将近1/3的人会严重肥胖。

Obesity can result in many health problems. The risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer all go up when someone is severely overweight.

肥胖会导致许多健康问题。当某人严重肥胖时，心脏病、中风、糖尿病和癌症的风险都会提高。

How is obesity measured?

肥胖如何衡量？

Obesity is generally defined by a person's body mass index number, or BMI. This is the measure of weight compared to height. A BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese.

肥胖通常由一个人的体重指数来确定。体重指数是指体重与身高的比值。体重指数大于等于30就被认为是肥胖。

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 40 percent of U.S. adults are obese.

美国疾病控制与预防中心估计，美国40%的成年人肥胖。

The new research predicts that by 2030, about 49 percent of U.S. adults will be obese. In 29 states, more than half will be.

这些新研究预计，到2030年，大约有49%的美国成年人将变得肥胖。在29个州，肥胖者将会超过半数。

In addition, about one fourth will suffer severe obesity.

此外，大约1/4的人将会患上严重肥胖症。

The study did not look at the reasons behind the increases, but "income is a big driver. Age is a big driver," Ward said. States with younger people have lower obesity rates because people usually "gain weight as they age."

沃德表示，这项研究并没有考虑肥胖率增长背后的原因，但是“收入和年龄是主要因素。”年轻人较多的州肥胖率较低，是因为人们通常“随着年龄增长发胖。”

The state with the lowest obesity rate will be Colorado, which has always had lower rates. Ward said people in Colorado do a lot of outdoor activities, and they may have higher income. He added that living at higher elevations, like Colorado might also influence the results. "There may be something about having to take a little extra energy to do everything at a higher altitude" that keeps weights lower, he said.

肥胖率最低的州将会是科罗拉多州。该州的肥胖率一直较低。沃德表示，科罗拉多州的人们从事多种户外活动，而且他们的收入可能更高。他还表示，生活在科罗拉多州这种海拔较高的地区可能也会影响结果。他说，在高海拔地区做任何事情都需要花费额外精力，这使得体重更轻。

The study was paid for by the JPB Foundation, which studies poverty and problems in society.

这项研究是由研究贫困和社会问题的JPB基金会赞助。

However, there have been some other hopeful developments in the effort to limit obesity.

但是在限制肥胖的措施方面也有一些颇有希望的进展。

In June, the CDC reported decreasing obesity rates among the youngest school children on government food aid. Obesity among these children fell from 16 percent in 2010 to 14 percent in 2016.

今年6月，美国疾病控制与预防中心报告称，接受政府食品援助的小学生的肥胖率有所下降。这些儿童的肥胖率从2010年的16%下降到了2016年的14%。