VOA标准英语2009年-Western-Style Diet Brings New Health P

Over the past few years, the country has seen a proliferation of so-called "lifestyle diseases" such as diabetes¹, heart disease and cancers. Experts attribute this to rising incomes, Western diets and less physical activity.

Cathy Majtenyi | Nairobi 22 December 2009

 
 

Malnutrition² and hunger relentlessly³ stalk communities in some areas of Kenya, while in others, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity⁴ are just one bite away.

For decades, the East African country's healthcare system has focused on battling malnutrition and communicable diseases such as malaria⁵, tuberculosis⁶ and HIV/AIDS, dubbed⁷ "diseases of the poor."

Pathologist and cancer expert Dr. Geoffrey Mutuma is principal researcher for the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

"We are having a tsunami⁸, and our tsunami now is non-communicable diseases, the diseases which actually we get because of what we eat, because we have changed our diet from the traditional African food to a Western-type of food, the fast foods," he said.

Traditional African dishes contain largely unrefined maize⁹ and grains, unrefined carbohydrates¹⁰ and fresh vegetables and fruits, and are high in fiber¹¹ and low in fat and cholesterol¹².

But more and more people are consuming processed, refined and fast foods. Fast food outlets¹³ and restaurants have proliferated¹⁴ in Nairobi and other locations within the last 10 years.

Nutritionist Anne Mwangi-Thuo attributes this in part to a growing middle class that has money to spend.

"It gives you 'class' if you go and eat chips as opposed to eating ugali [a traditional maize-flour dish]. It gives you class if you can go for what is called in Kenya 'nyama choma,' roasted meat, than when you eat the beans. When they grew up, they ate a lot of the maize and beans and potatoes - they felt that that is the 'poor man's diet,'" she explained.

This middle class, and even those living in rural areas, are walking less and less. More and more people have office jobs where they sit most of the day, and few people take time out of their busy schedules to exercise.

As a result of poor diet and lack of exercise, the so-called "lifestyle diseases," including diabetes, obesity, heart disease and certain cancers, are now taking over.

According to Ministry¹⁵ of Public Health figures, non-communicable diseases contributed to more than 33 percent of deaths in 2007. The ministry estimates that 53 percent of all hospital admissions in Nairobi are due to non-communicable diseases, with diabetes contributing 27 percent of the total.

Diabetes is Kenya's number one non-communicable disease, yet has received scant¹⁶ attention, says consultant¹⁷ physician/endocrinologist and diabetes expert Dr. Eva Njenga.

"We have actually a double burden of infectious diseases and the non-communicable diseases," she said.  "Diabetes is now being linked to a level whereby we actually have more people dying from diabetes than from HIV. And that should actually ring a bell and raise an alarm for our government."

But the lack of specialized¹⁸ equipment and expertise¹⁹ makes Kenya's health-care system ill-equipped to cope with diabetes and other non-infectious diseases, says the Kenya Medical Research Institute's Dr. Mutuma.

"It is very expensive," he added.  "They are chronic²⁰ diseases, they require a lot of treatment, they require a lot of care, and we are not ready for that."

Kenyan health experts say the government cannot expect help from international donors²¹ to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases. The experts say they think there is a perception in the West that so-called "diseases of the rich" are not found in so-called "poor" countries like Kenya.
 

1 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。

2 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。

3 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

4 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。

5 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

6 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

7 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

9 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

10 carbohydrates   

n.碳水化合物，糖类( carbohydrate的名词复数 )；淀粉质或糖类食物

参考例句：

• The plant uses the carbohydrates to make cellulose. 植物用碳水化合物制造纤维素。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All carbohydrates originate from plants. 所有的碳水化合物均来自植物。 来自辞典例句

11 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

12 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。

13 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 proliferated   

激增( proliferate的过去式和过去分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Books and articles on the subject have proliferated over the last year. 过去一年以来，论及这一问题的书和文章大量涌现。
• Influenza proliferated throughout the country. 流感在全国蔓延。

15 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

16 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

17 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

18 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

19 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

20 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

21 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》