VOA慢速英语2014 越南有一个营养问题,很多儿童营养不良

 

AS IT IS 2014-08-30 Vietnam, We Have a Nutrition Problem 越南有一个营养问题,很多儿童营养不良

Vietnam has a nutrition problem: too many of its children are underweight. Yet more and more Vietnamese boys and girls are becoming overweight.

The two conditions may appear to be separate, but they are linked. They are both the result of poor diets.

Vietnam has a history of food insecurity. So many Vietnamese eat more than they should because they are fearful of food shortages¹. And they remember when there were food shortages in the past.

People in other countries do the same thing. Like Vietnam, these nations have experienced food insecurity. But many of them now have a rising availability of meat, milk, other food products, including “fast food.”

Today, fewer Vietnamese are going hungry. Some experts have praised Vietnam as an example of the success of the United Nations’ Millennium² Development Goals. The first of the eight goals was to end extreme poverty and hunger.

The UN’s website says the food poverty rate in Vietnam was reduced by more than two-thirds from 1993 to 2008.

But many Vietnamese alive today can remember when people died of hunger in their country.

Le Thi My Phuong has two children. She was born in 1976. She was not alive during the war between Vietnam and the United States. But the war affected³ her. Partly as a result of the conflict, Vietnam experienced crop failures into the 1980s. The government rationed⁴, or restricted, food during the period. Many Vietnamese remember that time. And they want to make sure their children always have enough to eat.

My Phuong likes to give her children a cocoa product. It combines chocolate powder and milk.

She says, “I want them to develop and be tall. I don’t want them to be too skinny.”

In Vietnam and other developing countries, having overweight children is seen as a sign of wealth. It shows that parents can feed their children well.

McDonald’s restaurants opened in Vietnam in February. Carbonated soft drinks with high amounts of sugar, called sodas⁶, do not cost much. In July, the soda⁵ companies were able to persuade Vietnam not to tax such drinks.

The UN Children’s Fund says fast food, sugary drinks and lack of interest in exercise have caused the rate of overweight children in Vietnam to increase by six times since 2000.

But another reason might be milk. Drinking milk was once rare in Vietnam. That is because many Vietnamese experienced health problems after drinking it. But the years of starvation and reduced growth of children caused officials to look for ways to solve the country’s nutrition problems. Officials believed milk could help because it is a simple source of nutrients⁷. So they began a campaign to urge people to drink milk.

Vinamilk is one of the most-powerful companies in the country. It is partly-owned by the Vietnamese government. It and other dairy companies made television advertisements that showed smiling children who drank milk grew tall and fat.

The campaign worked. Vietnamese now believe it is important for children to drink milk in addition to eating more-traditional foods like rice and noodles. People were happy that milk had vitamin D and calcium⁸. But they did not talk about other things that milk had, such as hormones⁹, antibiotics¹⁰, allergens, fat and sugar. And it had lactose, which causes problems for some people.

Roger Mathisen is a nutrition specialist for UNICEF in Hanoi. He said part of the problem is people in Vietnam believe advertising¹¹ is a source of facts. He said they do not realize that sometimes it is, in his words, “propaganda.”

In recent years, Vietnam has cut back on its milk campaign. It now bans advertisements for milk-based products targeting children under two years old. But it continues to push Vietnamese to drink milk.

Roger Mathisen says the government cannot spend the same amount of money on campaigns as private companies can. But he says the government can set in place rules that help improve public health. For example, medical workers generally support use of drugs because health insurance companies pay for such treatments. But Mr. Mathisen says the government could amend¹² rules so that medical workers would urge mothers to breast-feed their children instead of giving them a milk-based product.

Increased amounts of food are not the only reason more and more people in Vietnam are becoming overweight. Many people are moving to cities from rural areas. That means they are much less physically¹³ active than they were. Many people who once worked on farms are now working in offices. In 2011, Vietnam’s General Statistics¹⁴ Office reported that “the obesity¹⁵ rate in urban areas is three times greater than in rural areas.” It said the rate was 8 percent in cities and 3.1 percent in the countryside.

Michael Waibel is the editor of an urban development book called “Ho Chi Minh: MEGA City.” He says city planners should create more “green spaces” and urge people to exercise in public.

On a recent trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Waibel said it is “not very pedestrian-friendly and there are no bicycle lanes to my knowledge.”

Vietnamese officials have paid little attention to physical activity. But they continue to be very concerned about undernourishment. UNICEF says 28 percent of Vietnam’s children are not as big as they should be. This is especially a problem in rural areas of the country. But people who live in cities are often overweight. So government policies must be different depending on whether an area is rural or urban.

Mr. Mathisen says there is a way to solve both kinds of malnutrition¹⁶ at once. He says Vietnam must help people learn to eat a balanced diet. He says such “food diversity protects against both undernutrition and overweight problems.” He says that is one good solution that will deal with both problems.

1 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

2 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 rationed   

限量供应，配给供应( ration的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• We were rationed to two eggs a day. 每天配给我们两个鸡蛋。
• The army is well rationed. 部队给养良好。

5 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

6 sodas   

n.苏打( soda的名词复数 )；碱；苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• There are plenty of sodas in the refrigerator. 冰箱里有很多碳酸饮料。 来自辞典例句
• Two whisky and sodas, please. 请来两杯威士忌苏打。 来自辞典例句

7 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

9 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

10 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

11 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

12 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

13 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

14 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

15 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。

16 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。