奇速英语

发展中国家肥胖问题日益严峻

There are now almost one billion overweight(超重的) adults in the developing world. This number was around 250 million in 1980. The number of very overweight people has almost four times in the last 42 years. A report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) said one in three people is overweight.

The institute wants all world governments to do more to change what people eat. The biggest reason why people are fatter is that they have more money and they are spending it on fast food. Fewer people are eating traditional, healthier food. Steve Wiggins from the ODI said, “Changes in lifestyle and advertising have both led to changes.”

It’s not all bad news. Two countries (Denmark and South Korea) have done very well in the past few years to deal with the problem. Denmark introduced laws against trans-fatty acids(反式脂肪酸). Restaurants and food producers must be very careful about the kind of fats they use to cook their food. South Korea started a public education program 20 years ago. It warned people about the problems of obesity(肥胖症). Mr Wiggins said, “A few decades ago the government of Korea said we must encourage our traditional foods, which are low in fats and oils, high in vegetables, high in seafood and so on. There was a lot of public education, a lot of training and a sense that Korean food is good for you.”