睡眠不足10小时的儿童更易患肥胖症

　　Babies, toddlers and pre-school children who sleep for less than ten hours a night are more likely to be overweight when they are older, research has found.

　　研究发现，婴儿、幼儿和学前儿童每天睡眠不足10个小时，他们长大后更容易变得肥胖。

　　Experts believe a lack of sleep causes an imbalance in the hormones¹ that control appetite, meaning those who do not get enough sleep are more likely to feel hungry and crave² calorie-rich snacks during the day.

　　专家认为，睡眠不足会导致荷尔蒙失调，而荷尔蒙在很大程度上控制人们的食欲。这也就意味着睡眠不足的人更容易感到饥饿，而在白天寻找更多高热量的食物。

　　Researchers from the Universities of Washington and California looked at the sleeping habits of almost 1,000 children under the age of five.

　　来自华盛顿大学和加利福尼亚大学的研究者找来大约一千名不到五岁的儿童，对他们的睡眠习惯进行观察。

　　They found those who have less than ten hours' sleep were twice as likely to be overweight five years later, with some even clinically obese³.

　　他们发现，五年后，那些每天睡眠不足10个小时的儿童发胖的几率是睡眠充足的儿童的两倍，其中还有一些儿童已经患上临床性肥胖症。

　　The researchers concluded: "Insufficient⁴ night-time sleep among infants and pre-school-age children appears to be a lasting⁵ risk factor for subsequent obesity⁶. Sleep duration is a modifiable risk factor with potentially important implications for obesity prevention and treatment."

　　研究人员得出结论：“婴儿和学龄前儿童睡眠时间不足似乎已经为后来的肥胖埋下长久的隐患。睡眠时间是一个可变危险因素，对肥胖症的预防和治疗有着潜在的重要意义。”

1 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。

2 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

3 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。

4 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 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。