We’ve reached a strange—some would say unusual—point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.
我们很奇怪，有人说是不寻常。根据世界卫生组织最近的一份报告，战胜世界性饥饿仍然至关重要，但现在死于超重，或者说死于极度肥胖的人比死于体重不足的人要多。如今，美好的生活更有可能杀死我们。
Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What’s going on?
更糟糕的是，全世界估计有近1800万5岁以下儿童超重。到底怎么回事？
We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.
对于体重问题，我们真的没有太多的借口。自2001年以来，公共卫生运动一直在向我们传达这一问题的危险性，这一信息在一定程度上得到了传播。
In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.
例如，在20世纪70年代，芬兰是世界上心脏病发病率最高的国家，超重是其主要原因，现在已经不是了。在过去三十年中，公共卫生运动使心脏病死亡人数大大减少了80%。
Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body-conscious country.
也许这就是为什么芬兰服用减肥药的人数在2001年到2005年间翻了一番，医生甚至提供了去除体内脂肪和改变身体外形的手术。这已经成为一种时尚，难怪它被列为世界上最注重身体的国家。
We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.
我们知道我们应该怎么减肥，但行动上是另一回事。到目前为止，最流行的借口是没有进行足够的锻炼。超过一半的人承认自己缺乏意志力。
Others blame good food. They say: it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food.
其他人则指责食物太好了。他们说：食物太诱人了，会让他们吃得过饱。还有一些人把责任推到美国人身上，抱怨说由于吃了太多美式快餐，体重增加了。
Some also blame their parents—their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape, or rather slim.
有些人还把责任归咎于父母的基因。很不幸，父母被冤枉了，因为他们身材正常，或者说苗条。
It’s a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say—not as I do.
世界各地都有类似的情况，尽管人们不太可能尝试减肥。父母渴望看到他们的孩子成长。言出必行，而不是相反。
