肥胖是如何影响儿童的?
Obesity Now, Obesity Later 现在肥胖，以后肥胖
Using data from 2003 to 2006, Ogden, et al. found that about 31.9 percent of children and teens in the U.S. aged 2 to 19 were overweight, and 16.3 percent were obese. Childhood obesity is a serious concern, as researchers have found a strong link between childhood obesity and adult obesity. Whitaker, et al. determined that as many as 80 percent of overweight children ages 10 to 15 were obese at age 25. Obese children can be on a path to a lifetime of health complications and other problems.
从2003年到2006年的数据中，Ogden, et al.发现美国2至19岁的儿童和青少年中差不多31.9%属于超重，而16.3%属于过度肥胖。儿童肥胖是一个受到严重关注的问题，研究者已经发现儿童肥胖跟成人肥胖之间的强烈联系。Whitaker, et al.推断有80%的儿童10岁时超重，而到了25岁则成了过度肥胖。儿童过度肥胖可能使其一生遭受并发症和其他方面的问题。
Health Risks 健康危害
Obese children are at risk for a number of health complications, both now and as they become adults. "Nearly every organ of the body is negatively affected," cautions Dr. Natalie Digate Muth, writing for the American Council on Exercise. The most common concerns are type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. These diseases or their precursors (insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, low-grade inflammation) are common in obese children. Approximately 30 percent of obese children suffer from "metabolic syndrome," which is medically defined as a combination of several of these factors and significantly increases their risk for serious health complications as adults. Other long-term health consequences of childhood obesity and obesity in general can include liver degeneration (hepatic steatosis), sleep apnea, kidney failure, polycystic ovary syndrome (in women), hip and knee pain, higher risk of bone fractures and hypothyroidism, to name a few.
无论现在或长大以后，过度肥胖的儿童都存在患上并发症的风险。“几乎每个身体器官都会受到负面影响。”Dr. Natalie Digate Muth为美国健身协会所写的文章中警告说。其中最普遍的问题是第2型糖尿病，心血管疾病和中风。这些疾病或它们的预先症状（胰岛素抵抗、葡萄糖耐受不良、动脉硬化、高血压、低级炎症）在过度肥胖的儿童身上是很普遍的。大概30%的过度肥胖儿童患上“代谢综合症”，即这些因素的组合，这巨大地增加他们跟成人一样患上并发症的风险。儿童过度肥胖和一般人过度肥胖的其他长期健康影响包括如脂肪肝变性（肝炎）、睡眠呼吸中止症、肾功能衰竭、多囊卵巢综合症（在女性身上）、髋关节和膝关节疼痛、骨折风险更大和甲状腺功能减退等。
Physical Challenges 身体上的挑战
Obese children suffer a number of physical and perceived physical barriers to living an active lifestyle, which can perpetuate a cycle of inactivity and poor health. Some of these include asthma, joint pain and increased musculoskeletal stress, and feeling "too overweight to do physical activity." Obese children need to slowly begin working low-intensity physical activity into their lives to break this cycle and prevent the long-term consequences of being overweight.
过度肥胖的儿童对于拥有一种积极的生活方式有大量身体和身体感知障碍，这样造成长期保持一种不积极、不健康的生活方式。这些包括哮喘、关节疼痛和增加肌肉骨骼紧张，还有觉得“太胖而不能做体育活动” 。过度肥胖的儿童需要在生活中慢慢开始低强度的体力活动来打破这种循环，防止超重带来的长期负面影响。
Social Impact 社会影响
Obesity and overweight in children is strongly correlated with low self-esteem and social marginalization. Because of these psychological consequences, obese children may display poor academic performance and social difficulties that can continue into adulthood. In addition, feeling self-conscious about their bodies or feeling ostracized when not chosen by their peers to participate in sports discourages obese children from becoming more physically active, again perpetuating a cycle of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.
儿童超重和过度肥胖跟低自尊和社会边缘化有着密切联系。由于这些心理上的影响，过度肥胖的儿童表现在学习成绩差和社交有困难，并影响到他们长大成人。此外，以自我为意识或不被同伴选去参加活动而感觉被排斥都使孩子们变得不爱运动，这再一次使他们长期保持一种不健康的生活方式。
(恒星英语学习网原创编译,转载请注明出处!)
