Nearly four out of 10 Americans will be obese within five years if people keep packing on pounds at the current rate — putting their health at risk, says one of the nation’s top obesity researchers. Currently, about 31%, or about 59 million people, are obese, which is defined as roughly 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight. Almost 65% are either obese or overweight, 10 to 30 pounds over a healthy weight, which increases their chances of developing diabetes, heart disease, some types of cancer and a host of other health problems. The medical costs associated with treating these diseases will strain the health care system and economy in the years to come, experts say.Americans are gaining one to two pounds a year, says James Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the university of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. Hill predicts that, at the current rate, 39% of Americans will be obese by 2008. He’s one of several national weight-loss experts who offer possible solutions to the obesity epidemic in Friday’s journal Science. This report comes on the heels of a landmark report in January that showed being obese shaves seven years off a person’s life, and just being overweight shortens a person’s life span by about three years. To stop gaining weight, people need to either burn 100 calories more a day with physical activity or eat 100 calories less every day, Hill says. They could cut back a little on portions, skip one soda or walk one extra mile a day, which would take about 15 to 20 minutes, he says. Other papers in Science address overweight and the role of Genetics. Jeffrey Friedman, a scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Rockefeller University, says basic differences in people’s genetics may partly explain why some remain lean in the current environment of fast food and huge portion sizes, while others are hundreds of pounds overweight is largely attributable to a set of genes, which compose a powerful physiological system that maintains consistency in weight in each individual.The human body has complex biological systems that include hunger and appetite hormones that make losing weight and keeping it off very difficult, he says. For instance, when people lose weight, levels of the hormone drop, which makes them, feel hungry and possibly slows down their metabolism, he says.Xavier Pi-Sunyer, director of the Obesity Research Center and chief of endocrinology at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York, says health professionals, including doctors and nurses, need to have better training on how to treat obesity and spend more time helping patients lose weight and keep it off. “Weight loss is difficult, but possible to attain,” Pi-Sunyer says. “Weight maintenance is harder but also possible.”
1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?2.Which of the following is not mentioned as a likely result of obesity?3.Friedman suggests that( ).4.To lose weight, Doctor Hill advises overweight people to ( ).5.It is implied in the passage that losing weight is difficult because( ).
A.Experts have found no effective cure for obesity so far. B.Obesity rate could reach nearly 40% in America in five years. C.Obesity is defined as 10 to 30 pounds over a healthy weight. D.Obesity is seen as posing no serious threat to people's health.问题2: A.Earlier death. B.Cancer and other diseases. C.Pressure on the current health care system. D.Disorder in hormone levels.问题3: A.obesity is really caused by people's genetics B.the environment plays no part in making people obese C.both genetic and environment factors contribute to obesity D.losing weight will cause disorder in hormone levels问题4: A.stop drinking soda B.take up physical exercises C.turn to low-calorie diets D.all of above问题5: A.obese people can rarely resist the temptation of eating more B.biological factors are at work when people gain weight C.modern people are subjected to the constant pressure of work D.improvement on people's living standard cannot be held back![](http://static.sotiji.com/static/index/img/search_icon.png)