2007年VOA标准英语-Fifteen Minutes of Daily Exercise Pays Off for

By Melinda Smith
Washington
16 May 2007
 

Women exercising

One of the few certainties in life is that good health begins with eating a balanced diet and frequent exercise.  But the older we get, the less likely we are to exercise.  A new study of 464 U.S. women who lead a sedentary life shows that even 15 minutes a day of physical activity can improve fitness.  VOA's Melinda Smith has details.

For busy women, like Liz Tucker, finding the time to exercise can be challenging. "I would really like to do it more often, but I work a lot," she says.

But a new study of women who fit her profile shows that even 15 minutes a day can make a difference.  The research – published in the Journal of the American Medical Association – focused on postmenopausal women who are at high risk for heart disease.  

Dr. Timothy Church and colleagues at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton¹ Rouge², Louisiana helped compare various amounts of exercise.

"We looked at 75 minutes, 150 minutes and 225 minutes of basically walking, and kind of no surprise, we saw that the more exercise you did, the more you improved your fitness,” said the doctor. “The surprise we did have was we found the 75 minutes a week group not only did not lose fitness, but they actually gained fitness during the course of the study."

The researchers found that these women gained stamina³ on the treadmill⁴ and lost abdominal⁵ fat.  Again, Dr. Church: "Weight that is in the belly⁶ or abdomen⁷ puts you at high risk for diabetes⁸, for cholesterol⁹ problems, for hypertension problems.  So it is an exciting result."

The women in the study exercised three to four times a week at a good pace.  Researchers say a recommended time is 15 to 30 minutes per mile, or about one point six kilometers.

Liz Tucker says she enjoys the exercise. "I think mentally as well as physically¹⁰ it makes you feel better, just to think you're doing something for yourself."

While 15 minutes of daily exercise has been proven to make a difference, health experts recommend that older women – and men – try to work activity into their daily lives in other ways.  They say a little is good, but 'more' is always better.

1 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

2 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

3 stamina   

n.体力；精力；耐力

参考例句：

• I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。
• Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。

4 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。

5 abdominal   

adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Abdominal tissues sometimes adhere after an operation.手术之后腹部有时会出现粘连。

6 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

7 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

8 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

9 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

10 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。