Iodine Deficiency Disorders Plague Europe and Central Asia

 

By Lisa Schlein
 
The UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, says Iodine¹ Deficiency Disorders³, which cause mental retardation⁴, are a huge problem in Europe and Central Asia. UNICEF says this disorder² can be solved for as little as five cents per person per year by iodizing salt.

In this video clip, UNICEF's regional ambassador and 16-time world chess champion, Anatoly Karpov, tells children they must have iodine in their diet, if they want to be smart. He repeats this message in a joking manner to a group of journalists.

"I can say,I can answer you like a joke that I believe that, when we solve the problem, every child will play chess," said Anatoly Karpov. "I believe that this is extremely important, so this is a problem we know how to solve. And one of the few problems we know how to solve."

Mr. Karpov comes from Russia, located in one of the regions of the world most seriously affected⁵ by iodine deficiency. UNICEF statistics show that more than half of the people in Western and Central Europe live in iodine-deficient⁶ countries. Surprisingly, some of the most developed countries, such as Belgium, Denmark, France and Germany suffer from a lack of iodine. However, the problem is most severe in countries such as Russia and the Ukraine.

UNICEF says these two countries account for 1.3 million newborn babies a year, who are not protected from iodine deficiency. This out of five million iodine deficient babies born in all of the region's 22 countries.

Mr. Karpov says the babies suffer because their mothers did not include iodine in their diets when they were pregnant. He says, unfortunately, the mental retardation that results from iodine deficiency in the womb is not reversible in later life.

"We believe that the cheapest, simplest and general message, to avoid iodine deficiency, is general iodization of salt," he said. "And, it does not cost too much. It is about five cents per year, per person-very cheap."

Mr. Karpov says governments should pass legislation to make iodized salt mandatory⁷. He says, in countries with such laws, iodine deficiency disorders have decreased. He notes this can be seen even in poor countries, such as Serbia-Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia and Georgia.

UNICEF says governments often do not promote iodine in food out of ignorance or widely-held misconceptions. For example, it says India rescinded⁸ legislation on iodized salt under pressure from consumer groups. It says these groups claimed that iodine in salt causes a variety of health problems. Tragically⁹, it says, by eliminating iodine from the diet, mental retardation among children in India, once again, is on the rise.

Lisa Schlein, for VOA News, Geneva.

注释：
mental retardation 智力迟钝
ambassador 大使
chess 国际象棋
statistics 统计
Denmark 丹麦
Ukraine 乌克兰
reversible 可改变的
legislation 法律，法规
Serbia 塞尔维亚（南斯拉夫东部）
Montenegro 黑山（南斯拉夫西南部）
Bosnia-Herzegovina波黑

1 iodine   

n.碘，碘酒

参考例句：

• The doctor painted iodine on the cut.医生在伤口上涂点碘酒。
• Iodine tends to localize in the thyroid.碘容易集于甲状腺。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 retardation   

n.智力迟钝，精神发育迟缓

参考例句：

• Asbestos reinforcement confers excellent flame retardation properties on a composite. 石棉增强材料使复合材料具有优异的防火性能。
• The theory confirms the increase in the retardation effect with decrease in particle size. 理论证实，随着颗粒尺寸的减小，这一减速效应将增大。

5 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。

6 deficient   

adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的

参考例句：

• The crops are suffering from deficient rain.庄稼因雨量不足而遭受损害。
• I always have been deficient in selfconfidence and decision.我向来缺乏自信和果断。

7 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

8 rescinded   

v.废除，取消( rescind的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Rescinded civil acts shall be null and void from the very beginning. 被撤销的民事行为从行为开始起无效。 来自互联网
• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan. 他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。 来自互联网

9 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。