经济学人下载:全球健康

Science and technology
科学技术

Global health
全球健康

One potato, two potato, three potato
一个懒汉，两个懒汉，三个懒汉

An effort to count the world's sloths
来数一数世界上的懒汉

A PAPER in the Lancet, shamelessly timed to coincide with the Olympic games, compares countries' rates of physical activity.
《柳叶刀》的一篇文章对世界各国人民进行体育锻炼的比率做了一个比较，而这篇文章的发表时间竟有意选在了奥运会召开之际。

The study it describes, led by Pedro Hallal of the Federal University of Pelotas, in Brazil, is the most complete portrait yet of the world's busy bees and couch potatoes.
文章中的研究由巴西佩洛塔斯联邦大学的Pedro Hallal主导，是迄今为止对世界上的勤劳之人和电视懒虫最为完整的描绘。

It suggests that nearly a third of adults, 31%, are not getting enough exercise.
研究显示，世界上有将近三分之一的成年人缺乏锻炼。

That rates of exercise have declined is hardly a new discovery.
人们的锻炼比率有所下降这并不是什么新发现。

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, technology and economic growth have conspired to create a world in which the flexing of muscles is more and more an option rather than a necessity.
自从工业革命开始后，科技和经济发展合谋创造了一个新世界，在这个世界里，锻炼身体越来越成为人们的一种选择，而非迫切的需要。

But only recently have enough good data been collected from enough places to carry out the sort of analysis Dr Hallal and his colleagues have engaged in.
但直到最近，Hallal博士和他的同事才从足够多的地区收集到了充足的数据来进行这类分析研究。

In all, they were able to pool data from 122 countries, covering 89% of the world's population.
Hallal博士和他的同事总共收集了122个国家的数据，覆盖了89%的世界人口。

They considered sufficient physical activity to be 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week, 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three days a week, or some combination of the two.
他们认为，充足的体育锻炼应该是每周五天进行半小时的适量运动，或是每周三天进行20分钟的激烈运动，或者对这两者进行适当结合。

There are common themes in different places.
不同的地区出现了同样的模式。

Unsurprisingly, people in rich countries are less active than those in poor ones, and old people are less active than young ones.
富裕国家的人比那些贫穷国家的人锻炼得更少，老人比年轻人锻炼得更少，这一点在意料之中。

Less obviously, women tend to exercise less than men—34% are inactive, compared with 28% of men.
但较为隐秘的一个现象是，女性通常比男性锻炼得少。女性懒惰人数占总人数的34%，而男性却只占了28%。

But there are exceptions.
但是也有例外情况，

The women of Croatia, Finland, Iraq and Luxembourg, for example, move more than their male countrymen.
如克罗地亚、芬兰、伊拉克、卢森堡这几个国家的女性锻炼得就比本国男性同胞多。

Malta wins the race for most slothful country, with 72% of adults getting too little exercise.
马耳他有72%的成年人缺乏锻炼，成为世界上最懒的国家。

Swaziland and Saudi Arabia slouch in close behind, with 69%.
斯威士兰和沙特阿拉伯紧随其后，懒惰人数占全国的69%。

In Bangladesh, by contrast, just 5% of adults fail to exercise enough.
相比之下，孟加拉国只有5%的成年人缺乏锻炼。

Surprisingly, America does not live up to its sluggish reputation.
让人吃惊的是，美国竟然没有人们所说的那么懒。

Six Americans in ten are sufficiently active by Dr Hallal's definition, compared with fewer than four in ten Britons.
根据Hallal博士的标准，十个美国人中有六个拥有足够的锻炼，而相比之下，十个英国人中拥有足够锻炼的人还不到四个。

In an accompanying analysis of people's habits, Dr Hallal found equally wide differences.
同时Hallal博士还对人们的生活习惯进行了分析，发现在这方面不同地区的人差别也很大。

In South-East Asia fewer than a quarter sit for at least four hours each day; in Europe 64% do.
在东南亚，每天至少坐四小时的人不到四分之一，但在欧洲这样的人却占了总人口的64%。

And even neighbours may differ.
而且即使是邻国之间差别也很大。

Only 2% of Swiss walk to work, whereas 23% of Germans do so.
在瑞士，只有2%的人走路上班，但在德国却有23%的人这样做。

These high rates of inactivity are worrying.
这么高的懒惰率实在令人担忧。

Paradoxically, human beings seem to have evolved to benefit from exercise while eschewing it whenever they can.
人类似乎已经进化到一种自相矛盾状态，尽管运动十分有益，但人类却唯恐避之不及。

In a state of nature it would be impossible to live a life that did not provide enough of it to be beneficial, while over-exercising would use up scarce calories to little advantage.
在自然状态下，缺乏锻炼的生活是不可能对人有益的，但过度锻炼又可能耗尽宝贵的卡路里，对人体无益。

But that no longer pertains.
但现在这种说法已经不再适用现代人了。

According to another paper in the Lancet, insufficient activity these days has nearly the same effect on life expectancy as smoking.
《柳叶刀》中的另一篇文章称，缺乏锻炼对寿命造成的影响几乎和抽烟差不多。