60秒科学:Overeating Alone Explains Obesity Epidemic

Americans have gained a lot of weight in the past few decades. Is it our sedentary lifestyle? The increase in processed foods and sweeteners? Supersized portions? Researchers from the World Health Organization in Australia say it’s very simple: we eat too much. They presented their findings May 8th at the European Council on Obesity¹.

Scientists measured the metabolism² of almost 1,500 adults to determine how many calories their bodies burn under normal conditions. Then they calculated how many calories they’d need to maintain body weight. They figured out how much we’re eating today versus³ three decades ago by comparing agricultural data from then and now. They determined⁴ total food grown and imported, minus what was exported, thrown away or used for livestock⁵.

With that information, they predicted how much fatter we should be based just on consumption. And we’ve actually gained a little less than the numbers say we should have. Maybe because we’ve added some exercise to the equation.

The scientists say this study shows that the situation is straightforward⁶. Exercise is great, but to get the weight down, Americans have to adopt the ELF diet. Where ELF stands for eat less food.

—Cynthia Graber

 

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 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。

3 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

6 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。