Fit and fat

文章来源: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z9j7bk7

Around 60% of adults in the UK are overweight or obese, according to a 2013 study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. They are labelled this way because of their body mass index, or BMI.

We’re used to the idea that being fat is harmful. But some people who have a high BMI are relatively safe when it comes to the risk from serious conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. Meanwhile, people with a supposedly ‘healthy’ BMI could still have a high risk of developing health problems. Some argue that BMI, which dates back to the mid-19th Century, is no longer fit for purpose. Research suggests there may be other, more accurate measures of individual health.

BMI has become a popular way to quickly and cheaply gauge fatness – and therefore health. But it doesn’t always work well for everyone.
BMI doesn't distinguish between fat, muscle and bone. This means it doesn't necessarily tell us how much body fat we have.

People with a lot of muscle bulk can have a high BMI, even if their body fat is low. On the other hand, some older people who lose their muscle with age could see their BMI fall into the ‘healthy’ range, despite carrying too much fat. BMI also doesn’t take into account where the body fat is.

Research shows that people who carry a lot of fat around their waists are at higher risk of health problems than those with more fat around their thighs and buttocks. So waist size may be a better way to monitor your health than BMI.

While waist size may be a better indicator of health than BMI, it too still has its limitations. It isn’t recommended for use in children, as it doesn’t take into account a person’s height. Waist size increases with age, and it can’t be used in pregnancy. It may also need to be adjusted for ethnicity. For example, East Asian and South Asian men may be more susceptible to diabetes than Caucasian men with the same waist size.

Beyond body shape and size, there is one test that has been shown to correlate extremely well with health. This test, known as VO2max, measures the amount of oxygen your body uses while exercising as hard as you can. VO2max is a useful way of measuring aerobic fitness. And in studies, people with higher levels of aerobic fitness lived to an older age.

Regular aerobic exercise is the obvious way to get fitter. But whatever your BMI or waist size, you can still improve your general fitness levels by becoming more active in daily life – be that doing the gardening, cycling to work, or walking instead of driving. Any exercise that makes you slightly breathless helps to improve your aerobic fitness.

So what’s the easy way to get healthier？

Stretch it out

Sitting at a desk for long periods can lead to various aches and pain in your body, particularly the back.
There are a variety of stretches you can do in the office to help combat this though.
Relax your back muscles by reaching your arms up to the sky, as far back as you can safely go.
You can help your neck by tucking your chin towards your chest while sliding your shoulder blades down.

Get cooking early

Cooking a meal from scratch is the best way to eat healthily – you're completely in control of what goes into it.
You should also try to eat your evening meal as early as possible.
Michael Mosley and Dr Jon Johnston explain how the human body has natural rhythms that make it better able to process food earlier in the day.

Plate size matters

It can be tricky to know when you've had enough to eat. But there are some things you can try to keep your appetite in check.
Using a smaller plate, like a side plate instead of a dinner plate, will make you psychologically less likely to overeat.
Or try eating until you feel almost, but not quite, full. This method is widely used in Okinawa in Japan – the island with more people over the age of 100 than anywhere else in the world.

Wait

If you've eaten your dinner, don't rush into second helpings. Try to wait 15 to 20 minutes before eating more.
Nutritionists say it can take this long for your brain to receive the signals that you're full.

Clear everything away

Once you’ve served food, don’t leave it on the table. This will stop you from picking at it when you're already full.
Pop your leftovers in a container and keep them for tomorrow’s lunch.
You can save a lot of money this way – if you spent £5 a day on lunch, this will end up being more than £1,000 per year!

Tomorrow's lunch today

If you have no leftovers, you should make your lunch now for tomorrow. It means you won’t be tempted by what's on offer in your canteen or local shops and cafes.
By doing it yourself you're able to make sure unhealthy levels of sugar and salt don't go in, and you can probably save money too.

Housework and workout

Don't think of housework as just a chore - it's also a great way to squeeze some more exercise into your day.
A man of average weight (just over 13 stone) could burn around 50 calories with 10 minutes of vacuuming.

Put your phone away.

It’s a good idea to stop looking at screens as the evening draws on.
Artificial light disrupts your body’s natural rhythm and production of melatonin, a hormone which induces sleep.

单词

• obese: extremely fat
• Body Mass Index（BMI）: 身高体重指数（身体质量指数）
• be used to sth/sb: to be familiar with something or someone
• diabetes: a disease in which the body cannot control the level of sugar in the blood
• supposedly: used to show that you do not believe that something you have been told is true
• fit for purpose: 适用
• accurate: correct, exact and without any mistakes
• measure: a way of judging something
• individual: 个人的
• gauge: 测量，评判
• bulk: 体积
• take into account: 考虑
• thigh: 大腿
• buttock: 臀部
• pregnancy: 怀孕期间
• ethnicity: 人种
• susceptible: easily influenced or harmed by something
• Caucasian: 白种人
• correlate: （使）相互关联
• VO2max: 最大摄氧量
• aerobic: 有氧的
• anaerobic: 无氧的
• combat: to try to stop something unpleasant or harmful from happening or increasing
• tuck: to hold part of your body in a particular position
• slide: 滑动
• shoulder blade: 肩胛骨
• from scratch: from the beginning, without using anything that already exists
• process: 加工
• tricky: If a piece of work or problem is tricky, it is difficult to deal with and needs careful attention or skill
• appetite: when you want to eat food
• side plate: a small plate that you put your bread on when you are eating the main part of a meal
• psychologically: 心理上地
• Okinawa: 冲绳岛
• helping: an amount of food given to one person at one time
• nutritionist: 营养学家
• pick at sth: to eat only a little bit of your food, showing no interest or enjoyment while you eat it
• pop: to put or take something quickly
• leftovers: food remaining after a meal
• tempt: to make someone want to have or do something, especially something that is unnecessary or wrong
• on (special) offer: If goods in a shop are on (special) offer, they are being sold at a lower price than usual.
• canteen: a place in a factory, office, etc. where food and meals are sold, often at a lower than usual price
• chore: a job or piece of work which is often boring or unpleasant but needs to be done regularly
• squeeze: to get in, through, under, etc. with difficulty
• calorie: 卡路里
• vacuum: 吸尘
• artificial: made by people, often as a copy of something natural
• disrupt: to prevent something, especially a system, process or event, from continuing as usual or as expected
• induce: to cause something to happen

金句

感受对比关系

1) Some people who have a high BMI are relatively safe when it comes to the risk from serious conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. Meanwhile, people with a supposedly ‘healthy’ BMI could still have a high risk of developing health problems.

2) People with a lot of muscle bulk can have a high BMI, even if their body fat is low. On the other hand, some older people who lose their muscle with age could see their BMI fall into the ‘healthy’ range, despite carrying too much fat.