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随着经济发展，人民物质文化生活的提高，一些富贵病如肥胖也如雨后春笋一样，迅速在中国蔓延开来，这已经引起了众多有识之士的担忧。
During the summer school break, some parents in China’s booming financial capital bundled their kids off to the Shanghai Physical Education Institute.
The four-week weight-loss camp, which opened in July, costs about a thousand dollars (U.S.) per child.
Rare in China just a few years ago, similar camps have sprouted in Beijing, Qingdao, Shenzhen, and other cities.
The reason: China is getting fat.
Today about 15 percent of adults, or 200 million Chinese, are reportedly overweight.
Of these, 90 million—about 7 percent—are obese (though China uses a slightly lower threshold for both designations than the UN’s World Health Organization does).
By contrast, 30 percent of U.S. adults are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts say the obesity epidemic is spreading to children, albeit more slowly than in adults. The trend, they say, will have a huge impact on the health of China’s citizens and economy.
“We’re seeing a very large proportion of children and adolescents who are quite heavy and aren’t moving much,” said Barry Popkin, a nutrition professor at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina.
Popkin collaborates on an ongoing health-and-nutrition survey of 16,000 households in China. He says more kids today are overeating and putting on weight “quite quickly.”
In just ten years China’s childhood obesity rate has doubled, with the greatest gains coming in urban areas.
Official figures suggest that, on average, 8.1 percent of kids in urban areas are obese, compared to 3.1 percent in rural areas.
Zhai Fengyian, deputy director of China’s National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety in Beijing, says the rate is even higher in major cities.
According to Zhai, in 2002 16.7 percent of school-age boys and 9.6 percent of school-age girls were obese. “In big cities it’s a big problem,” she said.
Zhai and other experts blame the extra fat on a range of factors, many of them tied to China’s rapidly changing economy and culture.
The diets of Chinese adults and children are far higher in calorie-laden meats, fish, eggs, dairy products, fats, and sugars than ever before.
In addition, kids—especially city dwellers—are more sedentary today and spend more time indoors in front of homework, television, computer games, and the Internet.
Barry Popkin says that kids in China now have pocket money, and they spend a sizable portion of it on junk food. He adds that advertising and peer groups influence kids’ food choices. Certain foods, such as new candies or fast food, have cachet.
China’s childhood obesity rate still lags behind that of the United States, where some 15 percent of kids are said to be obese. But the long-term effects are equally serious.
“These children who are getting obese are really going to be quite debilitated 20 or 30 years later,” Popkin said. Excessive weight or obesity increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and certain cancers, among other diseases, and can speed the onset of adult-type diabetes.
“In countries like China, diabetes happens already at a younger age than it happens in the U.S.,” Popkin said. “And it’s going up.”
The overall impact on China’s economy in direct and indirect costs, such as health care and lower worker productivity, will be “enormous,” he said.
“We’re talking about a country where about 5 percent of its GNP [gross national product] right now is going for the cost [medical and otherwise] of poor diet and obesity,” Popkin said.
Given the blistering pace of China’s obesity epidemic, it’s only a matter of time before obesity-related spending catches up to that of the United States, which spends 17 to 20 percent of its GNP on related costs, Popkin says.
“What we see is something unprecedented, and we see it happening in 1.3 billion people.”
在暑假期间，在中国迅速发展的金融中心的一些家长将他们的孩子送到上海体育学院。
这个为期四周的减肥夏令营在7月份开营，每个孩子的开销大约为1,000美元。
几年前这种现象在中国还很少见，而今天类似的夏令营在北京、青岛、深圳和其它城市迅速出现。
原因： 中国人正在变胖。
据报道目前大约15%的成年人，或者说大约2亿人体重超重。
在这些人中，9,000万——大约7%——的人患有肥胖症（虽然中国使用的是比联合国世界卫生组织所使用的两个指标都稍微低的标准）。
而对比美国，根据美国疾病控制和预防中心的统计数据表明，30%的美国成年人超重。
专家说，肥胖症正向儿童扩散，尽管其扩散速度没有在成年人中扩散得那么快。他们说这种趋势将极大地影响中国的国民健康和经济发展。
“我们看到大批儿童和青少年体重很重，而且不大活动，”北卡罗莱纳州大学公共健康学院的营养学教授巴里·波普金说。
波普金正在与人合作对多达16,000个中国家庭的健康和营养进行调查。他说今天更多孩子吃得过多，因此他们在“迅速”变胖。
只过了10年时间中国儿童肥胖率就已经翻了一翻，其中城市增长率最大。
官方数字表明，在城市中平均8.1%的儿童肥胖，而与此相对应的农村地区只有3.1%。
位于北京的中国国家营养和食品安全协会的副会长翟风燕说在一些大城市这个比率甚至还要高。
根据翟风燕的估计，在2002年16.7 %的学龄男孩和9.6%的学龄女孩是肥胖儿童。“在大城市中这已经成为一个严重问题，”她说。
翟风燕和其他专家将超胖归咎于一系列因素，其中很多与中国迅速发展的经济和文化有关。
中国成年人和儿童的食物中含高热量的肉、鱼、鸡蛋、乳制品、脂肪和食糖的比例比以前高得多。
除此之外，儿童——尤其是城市居民——目前更习惯于久坐，将更多时间用来做家庭作业、看电视、玩电脑游戏和上网。
巴里·波普金说中国的儿童现在有很多零花钱，他们把相当一部分用来购买垃圾食品。他还说广告和同龄人会影响儿童的食品选择。某些食品如新型糖果和快餐都已经拥有声望。
中国的儿童肥胖率仍然落后于美国，据说在美国大约15%的儿童肥胖。但长期的后果却一样严重。
“这些正在变胖的儿童在20或30年后他们的体质将会变得非常虚弱，”波普金说。
身体超重或肥胖会患其他病外，还会增加心脏病、高血压、中风和某些肿瘤发病率，并且会加速成年人糖尿病的爆发。
“在像中国这样的国家中，糖尿病的发病已经比美国人的发病年龄还要早，”波普金说，“并且现在这一趋势还在上升。”
对中国经济在直接和间接开支上的总体影响——如在医疗保健和较低下的生产力方面的影响——将是“巨大的”，他说。
“我们正在谈论的国家现在正把5%的国民生产总值花费在糟糕的食物和肥胖（医疗和其他方面）疾病的治疗上，”波普金说。
考虑到中国肥胖疾病的发展速度，与肥胖相关的花费赶上美国只是一个时间问题，这将花费掉17-20%的国民生产总值，波普金说。
“我们看到的事情史无前列，并且我们看到肥胖这种疾病是发生在13亿人身上。”
贾庆文／选译
During the summer school break, some parents in China’s booming financial capital bundled their kids off to the Shanghai Physical Education Institute.
The four-week weight-loss camp, which opened in July, costs about a thousand dollars (U.S.) per child.
Rare in China just a few years ago, similar camps have sprouted in Beijing, Qingdao, Shenzhen, and other cities.
The reason: China is getting fat.
Today about 15 percent of adults, or 200 million Chinese, are reportedly overweight.
Of these, 90 million—about 7 percent—are obese (though China uses a slightly lower threshold for both designations than the UN’s World Health Organization does).
By contrast, 30 percent of U.S. adults are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts say the obesity epidemic is spreading to children, albeit more slowly than in adults. The trend, they say, will have a huge impact on the health of China’s citizens and economy.
“We’re seeing a very large proportion of children and adolescents who are quite heavy and aren’t moving much,” said Barry Popkin, a nutrition professor at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina.
Popkin collaborates on an ongoing health-and-nutrition survey of 16,000 households in China. He says more kids today are overeating and putting on weight “quite quickly.”
In just ten years China’s childhood obesity rate has doubled, with the greatest gains coming in urban areas.
Official figures suggest that, on average, 8.1 percent of kids in urban areas are obese, compared to 3.1 percent in rural areas.
Zhai Fengyian, deputy director of China’s National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety in Beijing, says the rate is even higher in major cities.
According to Zhai, in 2002 16.7 percent of school-age boys and 9.6 percent of school-age girls were obese. “In big cities it’s a big problem,” she said.
Zhai and other experts blame the extra fat on a range of factors, many of them tied to China’s rapidly changing economy and culture.
The diets of Chinese adults and children are far higher in calorie-laden meats, fish, eggs, dairy products, fats, and sugars than ever before.
In addition, kids—especially city dwellers—are more sedentary today and spend more time indoors in front of homework, television, computer games, and the Internet.
Barry Popkin says that kids in China now have pocket money, and they spend a sizable portion of it on junk food. He adds that advertising and peer groups influence kids’ food choices. Certain foods, such as new candies or fast food, have cachet.
China’s childhood obesity rate still lags behind that of the United States, where some 15 percent of kids are said to be obese. But the long-term effects are equally serious.
“These children who are getting obese are really going to be quite debilitated 20 or 30 years later,” Popkin said. Excessive weight or obesity increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and certain cancers, among other diseases, and can speed the onset of adult-type diabetes.
“In countries like China, diabetes happens already at a younger age than it happens in the U.S.,” Popkin said. “And it’s going up.”
The overall impact on China’s economy in direct and indirect costs, such as health care and lower worker productivity, will be “enormous,” he said.
“We’re talking about a country where about 5 percent of its GNP [gross national product] right now is going for the cost [medical and otherwise] of poor diet and obesity,” Popkin said.
Given the blistering pace of China’s obesity epidemic, it’s only a matter of time before obesity-related spending catches up to that of the United States, which spends 17 to 20 percent of its GNP on related costs, Popkin says.
“What we see is something unprecedented, and we see it happening in 1.3 billion people.”
在暑假期间，在中国迅速发展的金融中心的一些家长将他们的孩子送到上海体育学院。
这个为期四周的减肥夏令营在7月份开营，每个孩子的开销大约为1,000美元。
几年前这种现象在中国还很少见，而今天类似的夏令营在北京、青岛、深圳和其它城市迅速出现。
原因： 中国人正在变胖。
据报道目前大约15%的成年人，或者说大约2亿人体重超重。
在这些人中，9,000万——大约7%——的人患有肥胖症（虽然中国使用的是比联合国世界卫生组织所使用的两个指标都稍微低的标准）。
而对比美国，根据美国疾病控制和预防中心的统计数据表明，30%的美国成年人超重。
专家说，肥胖症正向儿童扩散，尽管其扩散速度没有在成年人中扩散得那么快。他们说这种趋势将极大地影响中国的国民健康和经济发展。
“我们看到大批儿童和青少年体重很重，而且不大活动，”北卡罗莱纳州大学公共健康学院的营养学教授巴里·波普金说。
波普金正在与人合作对多达16,000个中国家庭的健康和营养进行调查。他说今天更多孩子吃得过多，因此他们在“迅速”变胖。
只过了10年时间中国儿童肥胖率就已经翻了一翻，其中城市增长率最大。
官方数字表明，在城市中平均8.1%的儿童肥胖，而与此相对应的农村地区只有3.1%。
位于北京的中国国家营养和食品安全协会的副会长翟风燕说在一些大城市这个比率甚至还要高。
根据翟风燕的估计，在2002年16.7 %的学龄男孩和9.6%的学龄女孩是肥胖儿童。“在大城市中这已经成为一个严重问题，”她说。
翟风燕和其他专家将超胖归咎于一系列因素，其中很多与中国迅速发展的经济和文化有关。
中国成年人和儿童的食物中含高热量的肉、鱼、鸡蛋、乳制品、脂肪和食糖的比例比以前高得多。
除此之外，儿童——尤其是城市居民——目前更习惯于久坐，将更多时间用来做家庭作业、看电视、玩电脑游戏和上网。
巴里·波普金说中国的儿童现在有很多零花钱，他们把相当一部分用来购买垃圾食品。他还说广告和同龄人会影响儿童的食品选择。某些食品如新型糖果和快餐都已经拥有声望。
中国的儿童肥胖率仍然落后于美国，据说在美国大约15%的儿童肥胖。但长期的后果却一样严重。
“这些正在变胖的儿童在20或30年后他们的体质将会变得非常虚弱，”波普金说。
身体超重或肥胖会患其他病外，还会增加心脏病、高血压、中风和某些肿瘤发病率，并且会加速成年人糖尿病的爆发。
“在像中国这样的国家中，糖尿病的发病已经比美国人的发病年龄还要早，”波普金说，“并且现在这一趋势还在上升。”
对中国经济在直接和间接开支上的总体影响——如在医疗保健和较低下的生产力方面的影响——将是“巨大的”，他说。
“我们正在谈论的国家现在正把5%的国民生产总值花费在糟糕的食物和肥胖（医疗和其他方面）疾病的治疗上，”波普金说。
考虑到中国肥胖疾病的发展速度，与肥胖相关的花费赶上美国只是一个时间问题，这将花费掉17-20%的国民生产总值，波普金说。
“我们看到的事情史无前列，并且我们看到肥胖这种疾病是发生在13亿人身上。”
贾庆文／选译