By Claudia Wallis

 

We didn't worry much about keeping fit 100 years ago. A sizable percentage of the population was reaping and sowing, herding and moving its way through life on[I1]  preindustrial farms.

当时人口的绝大部分在未工业化的农场上忙于收割耕种，放牧等艰难的维持生活。

 In coastal cities, strong-shouldered stevedores were loading and unloading ships dawn to dusk without a container or stacking crane in sight.

在沿海城市，膀大腰圆的搬运工从早到晚地忙着装船卸船，码头上绝对看不到集装箱和码垛起重机。

Builders, lumberjacks and railroad men drove nails or sawed wood using muscles, not power tools.

建筑工人，伐木工人和铁路工人完全靠体力而不是电动工具来敲钉锯木。

And for those doing the washing, cooking and scrubbing at home, life wasn't so dainty either- (Ever pick up one of those 4-kg solid-metal weights that gave ironing its name[I2] ?)

对于那些在家里洗涤，做饭和洗擦的人来讲，生活也不象现在这么轻松舒适 （你有没有拎过 4公斤重的烙铁去真正意义上熨烫衣服？）

In that bygone, sweat-drenched era, staying in shape just wasn't an issue. Indoor plumbing? Now that was an issue[I3] - Working out? Never heard of it.'¹

在那个远去的汗流浃背的年代，保持体型绝对不成问题。可现在，在家里自己铺设水管？新鲜事！去健身房锻炼？闻所未闻！

One can only imagine what time travelers from that strenuous era would make of mod­ern-day Americans, sitting on their duffs[I4]  most of the day-in the car, at the office, in school, on the sofa-eating like a stevedore and then driving to the fitness club to log a kilo­meter or two on a conveyer belt.[I5] ' It just doesn't add up[I6] /

试想那个艰苦时代的人如果能跨越时空过上现代美国人的生活，他们将会变成什么样子！每天大部分时间都是坐着：汽车上，办公室里，学校里，沙发上，吃得像搬运工一样多，吃饱后开车到健身俱乐部，在跑步机上跑上个一两公里。这简直是毫无道理!

Literally[I7] . The old energy-balance equation-calories in should equal calories out-is seri­ously out of whack[I8] ," as the rising rates of obesity in the developed world prove.

的确如此！（算数都算不对！）正如发达国家日益增长的人口肥胖率表明，传统的（人体）能量平衡 —摄入的热量等同于消耗的热量—被严重破坏。

For much of the past decade, health professionals and the popular press (including Time) have fo­cused on the intake side of the equation. We're eating too much fat， too many carbs[I9] , too much altogether- But the problem is just as grave on the output side.

过去的十几年，健康专家和媒体（包括《时代周刊》）只注意到等式的摄入面。我们摄入过量的脂肪，过量的碳水化合物，总之就是食物摄入过量。但其实，消耗能量方面存在的问题同样严重。

 

We are not burning enough calories or moving our bodies enough to maintain good health. "We have two epi­demics in this country. One is obesity, the other is physical inactivity," laments Dr. Tim Church, medical director of the Cooper Institute, a fitness research center in Dallas.

我们没有通过消耗足够的热量或者运动来保持身体健康。达拉斯Cooper Institute 健身研究中心的医学主管 Tim Church 博士感叹：“美国目前有两种流行病：一是肥胖，二是懒惰。”

" One is a topic of cocktail conversation⁶ and the focus of bestselling books. The other is ignored." And Americans are not alone in that regard. " For more than 200 years, we have been try­ing to avoid labor and exercise," says Aloys Berg, head of the sports-medicine department at Freiburg University Clinic in Germany. “Now many people go from the car to the office chair to the TV armchair and from there to bed. We have forgotten that we need physical activity."

一个问题（肥胖）是鸡尾酒会上的话题，也是畅销书的焦点。但另一个问题（懒惰）却被忽视了。而且这一点不仅美国人如此。德国弗莱堡大学医院运动医学科主任 Aloys Berg 曾说，“200多年来，我们人类一直试图逃避劳作和运动，现在很多人每天从汽车上到办公椅上，再从电视机前的扶手椅爬到床上，我们似乎忘记了自己需要一些体力运动。

In a special report on getting fit, TIME aims to address that imbalance. Why should we be concerned about fitness? Because as bad as it is to be overweight, it may be just as bad to be inactive. In fact, some health authorities believe it's worse.

在一篇关于如何保持健美身材的报告中，《时代周刊》试图探讨这种能量不均衡的状况。我们为什么要关心身材是否健美？因为不仅肥胖对身体有害，整天不运动对身体同样有害。事实上，有些健康权威人士甚至认为后者更有害。

The health risks of obesity-diabetes, heart attack, high blood pressure and certain cancers, among others-are familiar to most of us, but physical activity confers its own benefits "above and beyond what [I10] it can provide for weight control." says Harold Kohl, lead epidemiologist at the Physical Activity and Health Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'.

肥胖对身体造成的健康隐患，比如糖尿病，心脏病，高血压及某些癌症等，我们大都并不陌生。但是运动却能对身体产生很多益处，正如美国疾病控制防御中心运动与健康部的知名流行病学家Harold Kohl说“最显著的就是能够控制体重。”

How does exercise help us? To begin with, exercise works wonders for the heart: im­proving the lipid profile⁹, reducing the risk of heart disease and restoring function after a heart attack. "It helps tremendously in maintaining bone health whether you arc young or an older adult," Kohl notes.

运动为何对身体有益？首先，运动能够对心脏产生奇特的作用：改善脂质谱状况，减少心脏病发病几率，增强心脏复苏功能。Kohl 补充道：不论老幼，运动还能很好地维持人们的骨骼健康。

In addition, it can help to moderate[I11]  blood pressure in people with hypertension, can significantly relieve depression and anxiety and maintain cognitive function in old age.

并且，运动还能帮助高血压患者舒缓血压，有效减少焦虑和沮丧情绪，帮助老年人保持认知功能。

 

Studies show that physical activity may also assist in preventing cancers of the breast and prostate, probably by influencing hormone levels, and of the colon[I12] , probably by keeping wastes moving along.

研究还表明，运动还可能是通过影响荷尔蒙指数或者增强结肠功能，促进废物排泄，从而能帮助预防乳腺癌和前列腺癌的发生。

Why then has obesity hogged the limelight[I13] ?¹⁰ It's partly because being overweight is a problem you can see. Fitness isn't so easy to size up[I14] ."

那么为什么肥胖却引起过多公众的关注呢？部分原因是因为肥胖是自己能够看的出来的。但是一个人身体健康与否却不是这么容易测量的。

"Fitness is not a matter of being skinny," says Carlos Crespo,  professor of social and preventive medicine at the University at Buffalo in New York. "

“身材瘦并不一定是健康 ”，纽约州布法罗大学社会与预防医学医学系教授Carlos Crespo说，

“It's a matter of being healthy.” Experts like Crespo identify sev­en components of fitness, which typically go sth. like this: body composition, cardio-respiratory function, flexibility and range of motion, muscle strength, endurance, balance, and agility and coordination.

“关键是要健康。” Crespo等专家认为健康主要包括七个要素：身体结构，心肺功能，运动范围和灵活性，肌力，耐力，平衡感，敏捷度与协调性。

How do Americans stack up on those measures? No one knows. Assessing them re­quires treadmills, calipers, piles of gym equipment-and lots of money.

用这些标准衡量美国人的情况如何呢？没人知道。如果要进行测量，需要花费大量的财力购买踏车，弯脚器等大量健身器材。

The U. S, govern­ment used to conduct a national fitness survey of schoolkids, but that hasn't happened since the mid-'80s. What we do know about American fitness comes mainly from measuring body weight and from surveys of exercise habits.

美国政府曾经在80年代中期前进行过全国范围内的学生健康状况调查，但现在已经停止了。我们对美国人健康状况的了解主要是通过测量体重和运动习惯调查得出的结论。

The signs aren't good. The World Health Organization¹³ estimates that physical inac­tivity is responsible for 1. 9 million deaths every year. In the U.S., a third of adults are obese, but a quarter of them admit that they spend virtually no leisure time getting exer­cise.

结果不容乐观。世界卫生组织估计每年因缺乏运动死亡的人数高达190万。在美国，平均每三个成年人中就有一个肥胖者，其中四分之一的人承认自己几乎从来不运动。

 

 

A recent study by the University of Hong Kong found that lack of physical activity was linked to one in fifth deaths in the city- Another study found that long working hours and lack of exercise had left Hong Kongers in their 20s and 30s with the breathing capaci­ties of men and women years older.

香港大学的一项最近研究发现，该城市五分之一的死亡原因是和缺乏运动有关。另一研究发现由于工作时间长且缺乏锻炼，二三十岁的香港人的呼吸功能出现若干年的老化。

 

South Korea, which has kept a fairly healthy diet despite the often obesity-inducing transition to developed-country status, has seen physical activity among children drop -- 11% of middle school and high school students say they rarely exercise.

尽管一个国家发展成为发达国家时经常会伴随国民肥胖的困扰，（肥胖趋势向发达国家状况过渡）韩国人却保持相对健康的饮食结构。但是儿童的运动的确承下降趋势，大概11%的中学生说自己几乎从来不运动。

 

In the European Union, although an average of 38% of citizens claims to exercise or play sport at least once a week, 40% say they never do. Leading by example are the Finns, who were once the people most prone to heart disease.

在欧盟国家，尽管平均38%的民众声称自己每周至少运动或者锻炼一次，40%的人却说自己从不运动。最为突出的是芬兰人（芬兰人在这方面树立了榜样），该国居民曾经是最容易患心脏病的欧洲居民。

A series of radical nutrition and health-education programs launched since the 1970s has sent their exercise levels soaring and turned the tide on obesity, heart disease and stroke levels¹⁶.

自从20世纪70年代以来，该国推出一系列的基本营养和保健节目促使公众不断提升运动数量，从而对付肥胖症，心脏病和中风。

The most commonly cited reason for Asians not exercising is lack of time, especially among the region's harried children, often pressured to study around the clock. But the good news is that medical opinion is uniting around the message that getting fit for life can be quick and needn't involve a gym or running shoes.

很多亚洲人也经常不运动，至于原因，他们大都说是因为没有时间。尤其是该地区的孩子，更是每天要埋头做大量的作业。令人兴奋的是，医学界人士都一致认为保持身体健康有很多简便易行的方法，并不一定要去健身房或者穿上跑鞋去跑步。

 

The U. S. government's dietary guidelines were recently updated with its most explicit recommendations to date on exer­cise.

美国政府最近更新了饮食指南，提出了迄今最详细的运动建议方案。

Americans have been advised to get 30 minutes per day of moderate-intensity physical activity "on most days of the week." 60 minutes per day if they were trying to control their weight and up to 90 minutes per day to maintain weight loss. "The rock-bottom message should be 30 minutes a day, five days a week." says Church.

美国人应当每周至少四天做30分钟中等强度的体育运动，如果要试图控制体重则需做60分钟，如需减肥则要做90分钟的运动。“至少要每周五天坚持每天做30分钟的运动。

If you're wondering what moderate means, the CDC's Kohl offers this guidance; "Walking at about 3 to 3- 5 miles (about 5 to 6 km) per hour is moderate.

如果想知道什么样的运动是中等强度运动，CDC(国家疾病控制防御中心)的科尔认为“每小时走3到5英里（大约5到6公里）即是中等强度运动。”

If you can’t maintain a conversation and your heart is beating rapidly, then you've probably crossed into vigorous. “That can be something as simple as the group dance lessons ubiquitous in Asian public parks from Bangkok to Beijing.

如果你心跳剧烈，无法正常谈话的话，表明运动强度是剧烈的。“在曼谷或者北京的很多公园里随处可见的那些集体舞训练就是中等强度的运动。”

 Yet how many Americans get a moderate 30 minutes at least five times a week? In a TIME survey of more than 1 000 adults, 33% said they do. But they are bucking a trend.

然而美国人有多少能够每周至少五天做30分钟的中等强度的运动？《时代周刊》通过对1000个人调查发现，其中33%的人能够做到。但是他们的情况和大趋势显然不同。

According to U. S. government statistics, between 1977 and 1995, trips made by walking declined 40%, and walking to school fell 60%. To put modern society's lack of movement in context, researchers at the University of Tennessee's Department of Health and Exercise Science studied a group of Old Order Amish, a religious sect that shuns cars and other modern conveniences. Using pedometers, researchers found that average Amish men take 18 425 steps a day and average Amish women 14 196 steps. A typical American, by contrast, takes about 5 000.

美国官方统计数据表明，从1977年到1995年，美国人徒步旅行数量下降了40%，步行上学数量更下降60%。为了证明美国当代社会普遍缺乏锻炼，田纳西大学健康与运动科学系的研究人员对一群倡导拒绝使用汽车和其它现代便利设施的“老式阿米什派”信徒做了跟踪研究。通过步数计测量，阿米什派男信徒每天皮均走18425步，女信徒走14196步，然而大部分美国人，每天只走约5000步。

Turning back the clock to a careless, inconvenient past is not an option. Yet fitness experts believe the solution lies in finding new ways to make physical activity an unavoida­ble part of life.

幻想时光能倒流到以前那种无忧但却极为不便的日子是不切实际的。健康专家认为解决的出路在于发现新的方法来让运动成为生活中不可缺少的组成部分。

 

New Urbanism, a U. S. movement to build "walkable" mixed-use commu­nities, is gaining ground.

旨在建立适合步行的多功能社区的美国“新城市主义”正在兴起。

Meanwhile, some corporations are doing their part to get work­ers moving. Telecom company Sprint" has banned cars from much of its headquarters in Kansas City. Many of the buildings are separated by up to a kilometer, and they feature intentionally sluggish elevators to encourage the use of stairways.

与此同时，很多公司开始设法让员工活动起来。Sprint 电信公司已经开始在该公司位于堪萨斯市的总部内大部分区域禁止汽车通行。由于很多建筑之间距离差不多有1公里，而且建筑物的电梯有意调慢了速度，从而鼓励员工走楼梯锻炼身体。

 

Initiatives like these are still rare. But after a decade of taking it easy, the search for a fitter lifestyle for the world—for each of us—has to start somewhere, and the best way to do that is to move for­ward one step at a time.

这种主动出击目前还是比较少。但是我们在慢悠悠的享受了十多年的便利生活后，  每个人都应该考虑开始寻找一种更健康的生活方式，从何开始？最好还是从一步步踏实地的走好脚下的路开始吧。