At the same time. the shape of the human body is going through a huge evolutionary shiftbecause adults are getting so fat. Here in Britain. latest research shows that the average waistsize for a man is 36-38 inches and may be 42-44, inches by 2032.This compares with only 32.6inches in 1972. Women's waists have grown from an average of 22 inches in l920 to 24 inchesin the Fifties and 30 inches now. One of the major reasons why children now are at greater riskis that we are getting fatter younger. In the UK alone. more than one million under-1.6s areclassed as overweight or obese-double the number in the mid-Eighties. One inten four-year-olds are also medically classified as obese.The obesity pandemic-an extensive epidemic-whichstarted m the US, has now spread to Europe. Australia, Central America and the MiddleEast.

　　Many nations now record more than 20 per cent of- their population as clinically obese and wellover half the population as overweight. Prof. Prentice said the change in our shape has beencaused by a glut of easily available high-energy foods combined with a dramatic drop in theenergy we use as a result of technology developments.

　　He is not alone in his concern. Only last week one medical journal revealed how obesity wasfuelling a rise in cancer cases. Obesity also increases the risk factor for strokes and heartdisease. An averagely obese person's lifespan is shortened by around nine years while aseverely obese person by many more.

　　Prof. Prentice said: "So will parents outlive their children. as claimed recently by an Americanobesity specialist?" The answer is yes-and no. Yes,when the offspring become grossly obese.This is now becoming an alarmingly common occurrence in the US. Such children andadolescents have a greatly reduced quality of life in terms of both their physical andpsychosocial health. So say No to that doughnut and burger.

　　小孩長得太胖了——他們可能會成為先于父母死去的第一代人，一個專家昨天宣稱。現在的青少年已經因為超重而成為糖尿病等潛在殺手的受害者。[1]高脂肪的快餐飲食加上久坐于電視和電腦前的生活方式可能意味著孩子會悲慘地早逝，倫敦衛生及熱帶醫學院的教授安德魯·普倫蒂斯如是說。

　　與此同時，由于成年人變得非常肥胖，人類的體形正在經歷一個巨大的演變。在英國，最新的研究表明，男人的平均腰圍達到36-38英寸，到2032年還可能達到42-44英寸。相比之下，1972年的數據僅僅是32.6英寸。女人的平均腰圍從1920年的22英寸增長到50年代的24英寸，而現在已達到30英寸。兒童現在面臨重大的危險，其中一個主要原因是肥胖的年輕化。[2]僅僅在英國，就有超過lOO萬16歲以下的少年被列為超重或肥胖，其數量是80年代中期的2倍。4歲的兒童中每10個就有一個在醫學上被認定為肥胖。肥胖流行病——一場廣泛的傳染病——從美國開始，現已傳播到歐洲、澳大利亞、中美洲和中東。

　　目前，很多國家有超過20%的人口被臨床確診為肥胖.還有大半的人口被確認為超重。[3]普倫蒂斯教授解釋說，隨手可得的高能量食物的泛濫，加上人們日常的能量消耗因科技進步而顯著降低，這些都導致了人們體形的改變。

　　擔心這個問題的不只是他一個人。[4]上周就有一份醫學雜志揭示了肥胖如何導致癌癥病例的上升。肥胖還會增加中風和心臟病的危險。普通肥胖者的壽命會縮短9年左右，而嚴重肥胖者的壽命還要縮短更多年。

　　普倫蒂斯教授說：“那么，是否如最近一個美國肥胖研究專家所聲稱的那樣，父母會比他們的孩子還活得長?”答案是“是”——也是“不是”。如果后代變得很肥胖時那就是“是”。這種現象在美國已變得驚人的常見。這類孩子和青少年的生活質量大為下降，無論從身體健康還是社會心理健康的角度看都如此。[5]因此，讓我們向油炸面包圈和漢堡包說“不”吧。

　　1.Professor Andrew Prentice says kids will die young because of their__________________.

　　2.In Britain, overweight or obese under-16s in the mid-Eightieswere___________________today.

　　3.What should be responsible for the change in our body shape according to the passage?

　　4.The risk of some diseases such as cancer. strokes and heart disease may become greater dueto_____________.

　　5.What does the author suggest we do by saying "say No to that doughnut and burger" ?

　　1.[fatty fast-food diets and sedentary lifestyles/unhealthy lifestyles]