美国人的饮食问题

Problems of Americans’ diet

刘立军 供稿

TRANSCRIPT

9 out of 10 American adults have unhealthy metabolisms, mostly because of the food they eat.

Experts say it might be time for the government to regulate what Americans put in their mouths.

Dariush Mozaffarian is a heart doctor at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

He said the food industry is the only area of the economy "where we have the majority of products being knowingly dangerous, and we leave it up" to the public to decide what to have.

If there is a product that hurts people, "we get rid of it," Mozaffarian said.

To look at someone's metabolic health, doctors measure things like blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.

People who are in poor metabolic health are at increased risk of getting diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems.

"When you have 9 out of 10 adults being metabolically unhealthy, largely due to diet-related illnesses, you know we have a broken system," Mozaffarian said.

A big part of the problem is that Americans eat a lot of junk food.

Junk foods are processed foods like sweets or potato chips that provide little nutritional value and are high in fat, salt and sugar.

A study by the National Institutes of Health found that junk foods account for 1 out of every 7 calories in adults and 1 out of every 5 calories in children.

Junk foods are hard to resist because they contain things the body wants and needs.

Sweet, salty and fatty foods "are things that are very necessary to live, they're energy providing," said Linda Bartoshuk.

She is a professor of food science at the University of Florida.

The problem, she said, is that the body has a hard time knowing when to stop wanting them.

"We take in too much salt, too much sugar, too much fat, and it produces all kinds of illnesses," Bartoshuk said.

Mozaffarian is among health experts who are calling for more policies to help Americans eat healthier foods.

He would like to see the federal government improve nutrition in existing food programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Meals on Wheels.

SNAP provides financial aid to poor families to buy food, and Meals on Wheels delivers meals to older Americans.

Mozaffarian also thinks food nutrition should be included in the health care system.

Even though Americans are getting less healthy, the United States spent $3.8 trillion on health care in 2019.

Doctors, for example, could write prescriptions for healthy foods that are partially or fully paid for, Mozaffarian said.

He also thinks there could be more nutritional education for health care workers, and students in medical school.

And while Mozaffarian believes nutritional education would be effective, changing Americans' diet is most important, he said.

"We're going to need to fix the food, right, so that parents and kids who are busy and out wanting to enjoy their lives can get nutritious, affordable food," he said.

I'm Dan Novak.

VOCABULARY

1. metabolism n. the chemical processes in living things that change food, etc. into energy and materials for growth 新陈代谢。例如：The body's metabolism is slowed down by extreme cold. 严寒可以使身体新陈代谢的速度下降。

2. cholesterol n. a substance found in blood, fat and most tissues of the body. Too much cholesterol can cause heart disease. 胆固醇

3. prescription for sth. : an official piece of paper on which a doctor writes the type of medicine you should have, and which enables you to get it from a chemist's shop/drugstore 处方；药方。例如：The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

QUESTIONS

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. 90% of older Americans have unhealthy metabolisms, mostly because of the food they eat.

2. Experts say it might be time for the government to regulate what Americans put in their mouths.

3. To look at someone's metabolic health, doctors measure things like blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.

4. People who are in poor immune system health are at increased risk of getting diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems.

5. Junk foods are processed foods like sweets or potato chips that provide little nutritional value and are high in fat, salt and sugar.

6. A study by the National Institutes of Health found that junk foods account for 1 out of every 5 calories in adults and 1 out of every 7 calories in children.

7. Junk foods are hard to resist because they contain things the stomach wants and needs.

8. Sweet, salty and fatty foods "are things that are very necessary to live, they're energy providing," said Linda Bartoshuk.

9. The problem, Linda Bartoshuk said, is that the body has a hard time knowing when to stop wanting them.

10. Mozaffarian is calling for more policies to help Americans eat healthier foods.

11. SNAP provides financial aid to poor families to buy medicine.

12. Mozaffarian also thinks food nutrition should be included in the health care system.

13. Even though Americans are getting less healthy, the United States spent $3.8 trillion on health care in 2020.

14. Mozaffarian also thinks there could be more nutritional education for health care workers, and students in military school.

15. Mozaffarian believes nutritional education would be effective, but changing Americans' diet is less important.

KEY

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).

(F) 1. 90% of older Americans have unhealthy metabolisms, mostly because of the food they eat. （正确表达）90% of American adults have unhealthy metabolisms, mostly because of the food they eat.

(T) 2. Experts say it might be time for the government to regulate what Americans put in their mouths.

(T) 3. To look at someone's metabolic health, doctors measure things like blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.

(F) 4. People who are in poor immune system health are at increased risk of getting diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems.（正确表达）People who are in poor metabolic health are at increased risk of getting diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems.

(T) 5. Junk foods are processed foods like sweets or potato chips that provide little nutritional value and are high in fat, salt and sugar.

(F) 6. A study by the National Institutes of Health found that junk foods account for 1 out of every 5 calories in adults and 1 out of every 7 calories in children.（正确表达）A study by the National Institutes of Health found that junk foods account for 1 out of every 7 calories in adults and 1 out of every 5 calories in children.

(F) 7. Junk foods are hard to resist because they contain things the stomach wants and needs. （正确表达）Junk foods are hard to resist because they contain things the body wants and needs.

(T) 8. Sweet, salty and fatty foods "are things that are very necessary to live, they're energy providing," said Linda Bartoshuk.

(T) 9. The problem, Linda Bartoshuk said, is that the body has a hard time knowing when to stop wanting them.

(T) 10. Mozaffarian is calling for more policies to help Americans eat healthier foods.

(F) 11. SNAP provides financial aid to poor families to buy medicine.（正确表达）SNAP provides financial aid to poor families to buy food.

(T) 12. Mozaffarian also thinks food nutrition should be included in the health care system.

(F) 13. Even though Americans are getting less healthy, the United States spent $3.8 trillion on health care in 2020. （正确表达）Even though Americans are getting less healthy, the United States spent $3.8 trillion on health care in 2019.

(F) 14. Mozaffarian also thinks there could be more nutritional education for health care workers, and students in military school. （正确表达）Mozaffarian also thinks there could be more nutritional education for health care workers, and students in medical school.

(F) 15. Mozaffarian believes nutritional education would be effective, but changing Americans' diet is less important. （正确表达）Mozaffarian believes nutritional education would be effective, but changing Americans' diet is most important.

  (封面图片来源于摄图网，版权归摄图网所有）