2015考研英语阅读长命百岁美国胖子_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读长命百岁美国胖子

　　20 世纪中期的吸烟潮对这一现状难辞其咎，但肥胖症的影响也正在争论之中。尽管美国人和澳大利亚人都是大腹便便，但澳大利亚人的预期寿命一直保持着健康的增长态势。据国家科研委员会的研究人员估计，美国的高肥胖率应为其预期寿命低于其它发达国家承担五分之一至三分之一的责任。

　　It is unclear whether obesity might have a greater impact in future. As medicine continues toadvance, the paunchy may lead longer lives. Already, Americas most rotund citizens benefitfrom bypass surgery and cholesterol-lowering statins. The prevalence of high cholesterol andblood pressure among the obese in 1999-2000 was about half what it was in the early 1960s.

　　目前尚不清楚肥胖症未来会否有更深刻的影响。随着医学不断进步，大肚汉们可以多活些年月了。美国最胖的一群人已经受益于心脏搭桥手术和降胆固醇药的他汀。从1999年到2000年，胖人中的高胆固醇和高血压患者大约只占1960年代早期的一半。

　　But medical progress may do only so much. Obesity is being acquired at such young ages thatyou wonder what the limits of these technologies will be, argues Eric Reither of Utah StateUniversity. In a paper to be published in the August issue of Health Affairs, Mr Reither, JayOlshansky of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Yang Yang of the University of NorthCarolina contend that obesity threatens progress in life expectancy. Predictions based on pastpatterns of mortality, they say, fail to take account of trends among the young. The earlyonset of obesity may bring severe health problems, such as kidney failure, by the timetodays children reach adulthood.