2018考博英语阅读经济学人文章每日精析：计算卡路里

　　考博英语阅读大部分博士研究生招生院校都使用《经济学人》杂志文章作为题源，新东方在线考博频道为考博生们将其中的文章进行深度分析，希望能提高大家的考博英语阅读水平，读懂长难句。

　　Fatter people

　　胖人Counting calories计算卡路里

A new study suggests people have been fibbing about how much they eat一项新的研究显示，人们一直对于他们吃多少的问题进行隐瞒

Aug 13th 2016 | From the print edition2016.8.13/选自印刷版

　　THE English are fat and getting fatter. The scales of the average adult clocked 77.5kg (171lb) in 2014, an increase since 1993 of 5.1kg—about the weight of a border terrier. Over the period the share of adults classed as obese rose from 14.9% to 25.6%, about twice the rate in France and Sweden.英国人都很胖，而且在越来越胖。在2014年时，成年人的平均体重已达77.5千克(171磅)，比1993年增长了5.1千克——大约是一只博德猎狐犬的重量。在这期间，英国成年人被归类为肥胖的比例从14.9%上升到25.6%，大约是法国和瑞典人数的两倍。

　　obese a.极为肥胖的;肥大的 And yet policy analysts have been trying to digest a podgy paradox. Data suggest people are heavier—but also eating less. According to the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCFS), a long-running study that tracks shopping, average daily calorie purchases fell from 2,534 in 1974 to 2,192 in 2013. Another official survey based on reported food consumption found a similar pattern.而且目前政策分析家一直试图打破关于矮胖的悖论。数据显示，人们比以前更重——但是也吃得更少。通过生活成本与食品调查(LCFS)这一长期研究追踪人们购物，平均每日卡路里购买量从1974年的2534下降至2013年的2192.另一个基于已报告的食物消费量的官方调查也发现了类似现象。Digest v.消化，吸收;/n.摘要，法律汇编Paradox n.悖论，似是而非的观点 People gain weight when they consume more calories than they burn off. Therefore the two official data sources suggest that England’s weight gains result from people exercising too little, not eating too much. Researchers using these data tend to agree. A forthcoming paper by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a think-tank, argues that the rise in obesity in England reflects how jobs and housework have become less strenuous.They suggest sloth is more important than gluttony.当人们摄入的卡路里数大于燃烧的卡路里数时，他们体重就会增加。因此，这两个官方数据源都表明，英国人体重增加的原因是人们锻炼太少，而不是吃得太多。期待您的翻译，您可以将翻译留言到文章底部，第二天会有答案解析哦。这些暗示了懒散比暴饮暴食更严重。

　　But a report published on August 8th rejects this idea. Hugo Harper and Michael Hallsworth of the Behavioural Insights Team, a research group spun out of government, compared official data with those from other sources. A private survey and, more damningly, measures of actual calorie consumption, suggest that the participants in the LCFS are dramatically under-reporting their intakes. The authors estimate that England consumes 30-50% more calories than is declared.但是在8月8日公布的一项报告否认了这一观点。行为学研究小组是一个受政府资助的研究小组，该小组的Hugo Harper和 Michael Hallsworth对比了官方数据和其他来源数据。更糟糕的是，一项私人调查测得的实际卡路里摄入表明，LCFS的参与者大幅漏报了他们的摄入量。作者估计，英国人的卡路里摄入量比公布的要高出30%-50%。

　　Such under-reporting would mean that sloth is not the main cause of England’s weight gain. For this to be the case the country would have to have seen a big drop in activity, according to Mr Harper and Mr Hallsworth. They estimate that it would need to have been akin to every adult jogging for 56 minutes less per day than in the 1970s. This is hard to believe.这样的漏报将意味着懒惰不是造成英国人体重增加的主因。对于这一情况，国家将不得不认识到人们活动量的大大减少，据Harper 先生和Hallsworth先生表示。另外他们认为，体重的增加与成年人每天的慢跑时间比20世纪70年代减少了56分钟密切相关。这简直难以置信。

　　There are two reasons why people may have been fibbing about their calories. The first is that such data are hard to track, especially given that snacking and eating out have become more common. The second reason is wishful thinking. People who say they want to lose weight are more likely to underestimate how much they eat. And since fat people are more likely to say they want to lose weight, the rise of obesity has led to a growing tendency to under-report.人们为什么会隐瞒他们摄入的卡路里有两个原因。第一个原因是，该数据不易被追踪，尤其是当吃零食以及在外吃饭已经变得更加普遍时。第二个原因是，人们的主观臆断。说自己想要减肥的人更可能低估他们吃了多少食物。而且因为胖人更可能说他们想减肥，胖人的增加导致了漏报日益上涨的趋势。

　　Simon Stevens, head of the National Health Service, says obesity is “the new smoking”. It costs the NHS billions of pounds per year and cuts life expectancy by up to ten years (about the same as a lifelong cigarette habit). The report’s findings therefore have important implications.国家卫生服务机构的领导Simon Stevens说，肥胖是“新的吸烟”。它每年耗费NHS数十亿英镑，而且缩短预期寿命长达十年(大约跟终身吸烟习惯一致)。因此，报告的研究结果有重要的意义。

　　The government is looking at new ways of measuring calorie consumption. And the report may encourage policies targeting gluttony rather than sloth: for example, an expansion of the sugar tax that was announced in March. Nearly one-third of English children are overweight or obese. There is no time for flabby thinking.政府正在寻找计算卡路里摄入的新方法。这项报告可能会鼓励政府关注暴饮暴食而不是懒惰：比如，3月宣布了增加糖果税。大约三分之一的英国儿童都超重或者肥胖。没有时间再慢慢思考了。