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Heavier people are more harmful to environment
胖人对环境的危害更大
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published a study showing that, because of food production and transportation factors, a population of heavier people contributes more harmful gases to the planet than a population of thin people.
伦敦卫生和热带医学学院的研究者们发布的研究结果表明，由于食品生产加工和运输等因素，超重的人群比瘦人们向地球“贡献” 出更多的有害气体。
Given that it takes more energy to move heavier people, transportation of heavier people requires more fuel, which creates more greenhouse gas emissions, the authors write.
研究人员写道,考虑到胖人移动需要消耗更多的能量，体重越 重的人在运输时就需要越多的燃料，而这会造成更多的温室气体排 放量。
“The main message is staying thin. It’s good for you, and it’s good for the planet，” said Phil Edwards, senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
伦敦卫生和热带医学学院的高级讲师菲尔爱德华兹说报 告的主题就是要保持苗条身材。这有利于个人,也有利于地球。”
The study offers this novel approach to the global warming problem as US lawmakers discuss the fiiture of climate change legislation. This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to begin on a comprehensive energy and climate bill. On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that six greenhouse gases pose potential health hazards, an announcement that could prompt the regulation of the gases.
这项研究给正在讨论未来对气候变化立法的美国立法者们提供 了一个解决全球变暖问题的新方法。众议院能源和商务委员会定于 本周提交一份综合能源和气候议案。周五环保署宣布6种温室气体 会造成潜在的健康危害,这将推动有关气体方面的管理。
More than 1 billion adults worldwide are overweight, and about 300 million are obese, the study said. Generally, the body mass index, a measure of obesity, is increasing in most countries worldwide, from China to European countries to the United States.
研究称,全球有超过10亿的成年人超重,其中大约有3亿人过度 肥胖。总的来说,从中国到欧洲再到美国，世界大多数国家的体重指 数(BMI——身体体重指数)一直在增长。
BMI is going up because of the availability of food and motorized transportation, Edwards said. People are less active now than they were 30 years ago, and the prance of fast food has given people less healthy, more energy-dense options.
爱德华兹说，BMI由于人们能更容易获得食物以及便利的交通 条件而持续上升。人们比30年前更加懒散,快餐的盛行让人们增加 了热量的同时振害了自身的健康。
Using statistical models, the authors compared the distribution of BMI in tbe United Kingdom in the 1970swhen 3.5 percent of the population was obesewith a prediction for the country’s BMI distribution in 2010 reflecting 40 percent obesity.
研究者们使用统计模型,比较了上世纪70^代英国的BMI分布数 据与201阵的分布预测。前者的人口肥胖率为3 ? 5%,而后者为40%。
“In terms of environmental impact, the lean population has a much smaller carbon footprint，” Edwards said.
爱德华兹说广就对环境的影响而言，体型瘦小的人群的排碳量 要小得多。”
The population with 40 percent obese people requires 19 percent more food eneigy for its total energy expenditure than the population with 3.5 percent obese people, the study showed.
研究显示,拥有40%肥胖率的人口所需能源消耗要比肥胖率为 3.5%的人口多19%。
This 19 percent increase in food consumption translates into an increase of 270 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the study said.
研究表明，这19%的食物消费增长相当于新增2.7亿吨温室气体的排放。
“The findings make sense and highlight an important global co-benefit of losing weight, along with the significant personal health benefits，” said Patrick Kinney, associate professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study.
哥伦比亚大学邮差公共卫生学院的副教授帕特里克?凯尼并未参与此项研究,但他认为:“这 些结果非常有意义，它们揭示了减肥是为了全球的共同利益,且对个人健康益处良多。”
In terms of obesity rate, the US population is not far off from the overweight population model in this study. The country has 33.3 percent obese people, according to the Mayo Clinic.
按照美国目前的人口肥胖率,研究中的超重人口模型并非遥不可及。根据梅奥?科里尼克提 供的数据，美国现在有33.3%的人肥胖。
The study suggests that governments have a responsibility to encourage people to be more physically active, Edwards said. Active transportation, such as cycling and walking, helps maintain a healthy weight but requires safe streets, he said.
爱德华兹认为，该项研究建议政府应承担其责任,鼓励人们参加更多的体育活动。诸如骑车和 散步等积极的运动，可以帮助保持健康的体重,但这需要安全的街道。
Although climate change has come into the forefront as a major world problem recently, this is not the first time scholars have thought about the connection between fossil fuel and body fet
虽然气候变化最近已经作为一个世界性难题提上议程,但这并非是学者们第一次考虑矿物燃 料和人体脂肪之间的联系。
In 1978, a year the United States experienced an oil shock, a study in the American Journal of Public Health showed that if all overweight people in the country aged 18 to 79 reached their optimal weight, the resulting energy savings would equal 1.3 billion gallons of gasoline.
早在1978年，美国经历石油危机之时，《美国公共健康杂志》的一项研究就显示,如果美国从18 岁到79岁的所有超重人口都保持理想体重，那么由此节省下来的能源就相当于13亿加仑汽油。
After the dieting period, about 750 million gallons of gasoline would be saved every year, said the authors, Bruce Hannon, professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Timothy Lohman, now professor emeritus at the University of Arizona.
据伊利诺斯大学香槟分校教授布鲁斯_汉农和亚利桑那大学的荣誉教授蒂莫西?洛曼估计， 在节食期过后,美国大约每年将节省7.5亿加仑汽油。
